




•4 



9 




0> 



THE APOCALYPSE; 

OB 



THE EEVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE 



TMTH A FEW NOTES AXD REFLECTIONS, INTENDED FOR 
THE PLAIN READERS OF THE HOLY VOLUME. 



Many shaU l)e pui-itied, and made white, and tried ; but the wicked shall 
do wickedly : and none of the ^^-icked shall tmderstand : hut the Mise shall 
understand. — Da2\. xit. 10. 



BY THE 

REV. JOSEPH JONES, M.A. 



LONDON : 

HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW. 
W. ROWBOTTOM, DERBY. 



•J 



r 



PREFACE. 



Since the first part of the Introduction is in fact 
the preface to the work, I will be here as concise as 
possible in a few remarks which I wish to put before 
the reader. And in the first place, I must request 
him not to think that I am unacquainted with seve- 
ral of the views which have been taken of the Apoca- 
lypse : but my book is not of such a kind as to require 
any notice of them. In the second place, I can only 
say, that I look upon what I may call the Protestant 
Interpretation to be the true one: I regard the 
Year-day Theory as resting on firm ground: the 
analogy of revelation requires such a book as the 
Apocalypse is : and the striking coincidence between 
the prophetical announcements and a series of his- 
torical phenomena, is such as compels me to view 
the Apocalypse as a book which has a regular con- 
tinuous chronological development. We may not 
be correct in all instances in our explanation of its 
predictions by historical facts; but this does not in 
the least degree affect the soundness of our principle 



IV 



PREFACE. 



and the general trutli of our comment. When, m- 
deed, we come to chapter xvi. 12, &c. \Ye are un- 
doubtedly brought to about our own time; the 
future is opened to our view; and it would be 
equally idle and rash to attempt any thing hke a 
minute explanation of the subsequent chapters. 

The Apocalypse may be justly accounted a won- 
derful book; containing a history of the Church, in 
its great outlines, from the days of the Apostle to 
the consummation of all thinD;s. It is very much 
through the media of scenery and symbols that its in- 
structioli is given us : we are called upon to exercise 
our minds; Dan. xii. 4 and 10: and we gain that 
measure of knowledge which is suited to us as moral 
agents in a state of probation or trial. But what- 
ever obscurity may belong to this book, I must re- 
gard it as a matter-of-fact book, whose contents are 
imm.ediately connected with the great and continued 
stream of the world's transactions, and which are 
not to be frittered away by any arts of mysticism 
and abstraction. 

It may be thought by some persons that injustice 
is done to the Papacy by making it the prominent 
subject of the Apocalypse. If, however, we dis- 
passionately view the Papacy, it may be found that 
such an idea is groundless. I will here quote a 



PREFACE. V 

paragraph from an excellent living writer on Rev. 
xvdi. 1 — 8. " Let us pause to observe how much 
there is really to wonder at, how much to fill us with 
awe, and horror, and indignation, for the affronted 
majesty of our Lord, in the pretensions and practices 
of the apostate church of Rome. A bishop claims 
the right to dispose of kingdoms ; and seats himself 
on the altar of God. A whole order of bishops, 
priests, and deacons, declare that they can turn 
bread into the very substance of God, and constrain 
men to bow the knee to this their creature. They 
uphold image worship. They profess to forgive 
sins. They preach at once the merit of good 
works, and indulgences for sin. They use an un- 
known tongue for public prayer, forbid to m.arry, 
and command to abstain from meats. And they 
rivet these and other like chains of darkness, on the 
consciences of mankind, by withholding the word 
of God from the people. Add to this, they support 
their usurpation by the imprisonment, torture, and 
death, of all that dare to question their supposed 
infallibihty. Instead of persuading, they compel. 
Instead of appeahng to reason and affection, the 
method sanctioned by the Spirit of God, they apply 
the dungeon, the rack, or the fire." — Such is the 
Papacy; such too is the antichristian power pre- 

A 3 



vi PREFACE. 

dieted in the Xew Testament : how. then, is it pos- 
sible to rest in any other conclusion than this, that 
the Papacy is the hostile power foretold in Scrip- 
ture? ]\Iatthew Pool thus concludes his preface to 
his Annotations on the Eevelation. I dare not be 
positive as to the sense I have given, but shall only 
say it is what appeareth to me most probable. 
There have been found some in the tents of Protes- 
tants, that have taken much pains to free the Papacy 
from the imputation of antichrist. This I conceive 
was Grotius's design, in his interpretation of this 
book, as* if it had been a history rather than a pro- 
phecy, fulfilled in less than two hundred and fifty 
years after it was published. As to the Papacy 
being Antichrist, I think that great person spake 
well, who would not be peremptory in the case, but 
said, ' It had so many of his marks, that upon a hue 
and cry for antichrist, he should apprehend liim.' 
I shall add, that if he were so apprehended and tried, 
he could never acquit himself either at the bar of 
Scripture or reason.*' 

A wise and good man will tremble to form false 
judgments in rehgious matters. But it may be 
asked, are we most exposed in our day, (which is 
not free from that spurious benevolence which is 
very latitudinarian,) to err by ''calling evil good, 



PREFACE. Vll 

or mod evil?" A woe is denounced ao-ainst tliose 
^yho offend in either way. This subject deserves 
serious thought: for is not there not among us in 
many quarters a strange incUnation to confound 
moral elements; to palliate error, to conceal de- 
formity, and to sacrifice plain and honest truth at 
the shrine of expediency and candour? I pity the 
man who does not look with tenderness and love 
upon the whole human family; and who does not 
possess and cherish in his heart the feelings which 
St. Paul had when he thus addressed Agrippa ; 
" I would to God, that not only thou, but also all 
that hear me this day, were both almost, and alto- 
gether such as I am, except these bonds." This is 
to love our neighbour as ourselves. It cannot be 
denied that unjust severity is a sort of gross injustice : 
but is not dalliance with error, the extenuation of 
evil, and the gay decoration of folly, equally unjust, 
and far more injurious in their tendency? 

But it is suggested, that by applying the Apoca- 
lypse to the Papacy, whilst we are assailing one 
enemy, we are putting ourselves off our guard, and 
rendering ourselves unprepared to encounter a far 
more formidable foe, who may assault us at some 
future period; — an Antichrist of a far more atro- 
cious character than any which has yet appeared. 



Vlll PKEFACE. 

But our answer to a notion of this sort is easy and 
clear. We maintain, in the first place, that we have 
one adversary very plainly before us. Secondly, 
We do expect other formidable enemies to arise: 
we rest our expectation on the express words of 
prophecy; Rev. xvi. 13, 14: we may call them 
antichrists if we choose: these and the papacy are 
cognate adversaries. Thirdly, If we view prophecy 
rightly we shall not confine our thoughts to the 
Papacy, but we shall be fully aware that the Church 
is to have various and formidable assailants in these 
last days. 

" The bottomless pit denotes that baseless or in- 
fidel state of society out of which the last Antichrist 
shall arise — a condition of things which gave rise to 
the French Revolution at the beginning of this 
century, it being only a tj^pe or foreshado^t^ing of 
the things which are about to come into manifesta- 
tion we know not how soon." — Thus speaks a writer 
in " The Church of England Quarterly Review," 
Oct., 1852: and he maintains, that Rom-C Eccle- 
siastical is represented, first, by the blaspheming 
mouth of the beast, xiii. 6; secondly by the woman 
riding the beast, xvii. 3 ; thirdly, by the false pro- 
phet doing miracles before him, xix. 20." The rise 
of another antichristian power which is to come, 



PREFACE. ix 

(assuming that to be the case,) furnishes no argu- 
ment for our not standing opposed to an antichris- 
tian power which already exists. 

If therefore in our opposition to the Papacy, 
the great parent-antichrist, we forget the fright- 
ful offspring which are to issue from it, it only 
shows that we are shortsio^hted beino^s. who look 
at a part only, and not at the whole, of the 
prophetical development. According to my view 
of the Chronology, of the Apocalypse, we cannot be 
far from the manifestation and action (if, indeed, 
they be not already begun,) of this fearful hostility. 
These few remarks are sufficient to show, that the 
objection to our view of the Papacy as one great 
Antichrist of the Apocalypse has no weight what- 
ever. 

I cannot lay down the pen without observing, that 
I wish the Apocalypse to be studied not merely as a 
book that unfolds the history of the Church, her 
trials and ultimate triumph, but especially as a re- 
ligious book; one that is to be read with close 
thought, deep humility, and earnest prayer, for the 
enlargement of our minds, the animation of our 
hearts, and the edification of our souls. Its spiritual 
and practical design is to strengthen our faith and 
enliven our love; to elevate our hope and inspire 



X 



PEEFACE. 



US with patience and resignation; and to urge us to 
be courageous, stedfast, and diligent in preparing 
for the dread solemnities which we shall one day 
behold, and for that world into which we shall soon 
enter. 

gracious Father, compassionate Redeemer, 
Almighty Sanctifier, look down in love and pity 
upon a sinful world ; and hasten the day when the 
holy light of truth, the healing streams of mercy 
and grace, and the enlivening beams of love, shall 
abound in all lands; when ''there shall be one 
Fold, and one Shepherd." Amen. 

Bower Hill, Bepton^ 
December^ 1^52. 



CONTENTS, 



PAGE 

The Preface. . . . . . . i 

THE INTEODUCTIOJf. 

Section 1. (Preparatory Pteniarks) . . . 1 

5, 2. Symbolical language . . . 19 

3. Chronological View, &:c. . . . 23 

4. Prophecies of the Papacy, &c. . . 38 

5. Analytical View of the Apocalypse . 41 

THE APOCALYPSE. 

Chapter 1 60 

„ 11. 66 

„ III . .73 

„ lY. . . ... . . 79 

„ Y 83 

„ YI . . 87 

„ YII .91 

./ YIIL . . . . . . . 96 

„ IX. ...... . 102 

„ X. ... . . . 108 

„ XL . . . . . . . 112 



XII 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Chapter XII 118 

XIII 124 

XIY 130 

„ XY 136 

XYI 140 

„ XYII 145 

„ XYin . .152 

„ XIX 158 

XX 164 

„ XXI .169 

„ XXII 175 



THE INTRODUCTION. 



SECTION I. 

1. Prophecy has been the lamp, the Kght and 
consolation, of the Church, or of the people of God, 
through all ages. The Old Testament may be said 
to have been a prediction of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who " was to come:" and the New Testament, while 
it is the record of Him who has come, is also the 
prediction of Him as He who is to come." We 
do not mean to say that the Bible contains nothing 
besides prophecy: but we mean to say, that our 
blessed Saviour is the great and peculiar Object 
which is manifested to us in the sacred Volume. 
His first and second Advents form as it were the 
points to which a large part of the prophetical 
writings directs us, or to which it especially refers. 

2. He, therefore, who is not acquainted with 
Prophecy, cannot be said to be properly acquainted 
with the Bible. We are far from saying, that a 
person should confine his attention to this one 
subject; but we hold, that this subject ought by no 
means to be undervalued or neglected. It is true, 
that many of the words of prophecy are " closed up 

B 



2 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



and sealed till tlie time of the end;" but it is also 
said, that ''the wise shall understand:" and this 
command also was given to St. John; "Seal not 
the sayings of the prophecy of this book : for the 
time is at hand." 

3. It is painful to observe, that by many persons 
the Apocalypse is thought of and spoken of in a 
very unseemly manner: but, at the same time, we 
rejoice to say, that a goodly host of pious and able 
men have devoted their talents and learning to the 
elucidation of this remarkable book. We dwell 
with pleasure on the names of Mede, Newton, 
Bp. Newton, Faber, Elliott, Birks, and Hoare; and 
to these many others might be added. "We gladly 
thank such men for their labours ; respect them for 
their learning, and revere them for their piety. 

4. It is by no means strange, we think, that the 
Book of Daniel and Eevelation of St. John should 
be (as we presume is the case) a favourite portion of 
the Bible with many of the poor. These Books 
address themselves to their imagination. They are 
astonished and delighted with the splendid scenery 
and wonderful images presented to them ; with the 
magnificence of some parts, the awfulness of others, 
and the mysterious grandeur of the whole. Com- 
paratively few of them, however, we apprehend, 
can have any thing like a right understanding of 
these writings, or derive from them that instruction, 
edification, and comfort, which it is their design, and 
which they are so well calculated, to impart. 



INTRODUCTION. 



5. It may be here distinctly stated, that the sole 
objeot of the present work is, — To furnish the plain 
and unlettered, but serious and thoughtful, Christian 
with such a view of the Apocalypse as shall enable 
him to read it, under God's blessing, with large 
advantage. It is our desire and aim to write — A 
book for the Cottager. Hence, therefore, it is in no 
respect original: it makes no pretension to learning, 
ingenuity, or acuteness : it is, in fact, only a com- 
pilation from different writers. 

6. The writer must be permitted to observe, that 
as he is no dogmatist in the doubtful and merely 
speculative matters of theology, so he is very far 
from being a dogmatist in the interpretation of 
Prophecy. He advocates thought and inquiry : but, 
with regard to many subjects, he leaves positive and 

1 absolute conclusions to those who have more acute 
' vision, or more confidence in their powers, than he 
possesses. All, therefore, that he says of his present 
work is — This is the view of the Apocalypse which 
he holds, and which he thinks to be in the main 
true." 

7. If we would rightly study the Apocalypse, we 
must take it up as a Theological and as a Propheti- 
cal Book. The former view of it may be presented 
to the -reader in the words of one who has closely 
studied it, and written upon it with great elegance 
and modesty.* — ^' The interest of the Apocalypse," 



* The Rev. W. H. Hoare, M.A. 
B 2 



4 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



he observes, ''is by no means confined to its pro- 
phetical parts. Even allowing that, in these»parts, 
it was indeed ' the sealed book,' which some sup- 
pose it, there would remain abundantly sufficient 
matter in it, to establish its claim to be regarded as, 
of all Scripture, the most interesting portion to the 
Christian Church. In the glimpses it affords us of 
the world of spirits; in its unveiling to our view 
what little may be known of ' the Communion of 
the departed with the living saints;' in its descrip- 
tions of the righteous and the wicked ; and of the 
final judgment; in its emphatic and repeated testi- 
mony to the fundamental articles of our Faith, to 
the doctrine of the Trinity, to the Personality, 
Divinity, Incarnation, Sufferings, Exaltation, Medi- 
torial Office, and triumphant reign of Christ ; in its 
protest against corresponding errors, as idolatry, 
additions to, and subtractions ft'om, the Word of 
God; in its repeated testimony to the justification of 
the sinner, as effected only ''by the merits and 
death of Christ," " and through faith in His blood;" 
to the necessity of Sanctification ; to a day of ac- 
count, and to the future judgment of every man 
according to his works; — In these, and such other 
topics with which it abounds, w^e have full proof of 
the value of this closing portion of the inspired 
Canon, to all who would ' strive earnestly for the 
faith once dehvered to the saints.' " 

8. The same excellent writer speaks thus about 
the Apocalypse, viewed as a Prophetical Book. "If 
the very title of this book, as the ' Revelation of 



INTRODUCTION. 



5 



Jesus Christ,' be rightly understood to imply, not 
only the final manifestation of our Lord at His 
Coming, but also the gradual development of His 

|l kingdom previous to that event ; if this be confirmed 
by the express injunctions delivered to the Apostle 
at the opening of the book, ' Write the things 
which thou seest, both those which are now. and 
those which shall happen after these; and if, by 

1 way of such development, we have a clear repre- 
sentation of the general outlines at least of the 
Church's history and prospects, of her destined trials 
and persecutions, of her supports and consolations 

, under them, and of her ultimate triumph and de- 

I liverance out of all; — then have we abundant matter 
of profit and edification in the study of the Apoca- 
lypse, without attempting to become prophets our- 
selves, and without deciding beforehand what is to 
be the exact accomphshment of predictions not ful- 
filled as yet, and of which Time alone can be the 
true and complete interpreter." 

9. Nothing need here be said of the first three 
chapters, viewed theologically. Who, indeed, can 
possibly read the Epistles to the Seven Churches 

? without the enlargement, improvement, and anima- 
tion of his piety? Surely there is much in each of 
them that ought to come home at all times to the 

' heart of every Christian. But, independently of 
these, the whole book abounds with the plain doc- 
trines of the Gospel ; for amidst all its developments 
of historical events, those rays of holy truth are con- 



6 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



tinually streaming forth upon the devout reader, 
which ought to strengthen his faith, to enhven his 
love, to refresh and comfort his weary heart, to 
direct his steps, to warn him against danger, and to 
confirm him in all truth and goodness. 

10. The reader of the Apocalypse will do well, 
we think, to take up as a primary idea the fact, 
that a Contrast and an Antagonism between two 
directly opposite powers, causes, and agencies, are 
here presented to him for his meditation. He will 
find in it the delineation of Truth and Error; of 
Good and Evil; of the Lamb and of the Dragon; 
of the true Church and of the corrupt Church ; of 
Fidelity and Idolatry; of Good men and of Wicked 
men; of Persecution and Patience; of Depression 
and Triumph. At the close of all, he will see the 
overthrow of error and evil, and the elevation of 
truth and goodness: and, as the blessed and the 
dreadful consummation, the glorious Jerusalem and 
happy Paradise, and the lake of fire and brimstone, 
are put before him in their appropriate forms of 
loveliness and of awfulness. 

11. But before the reader studies this book, we 
must request him to obtain the best view of its order 
that he can: for if he do not attend to this, his 
notions of it must be altogether vague, confused, 
and unsatisfactory. We are so fully convinced of 
the importance of this matter, that, however guilty 
we may be of some repetition, we shall here give 
two brief sketches or tables of the Apocalypse, and 



IlSrTRODUCTION. 



7 



afterwards give a more minute staternent of its con- 
tents in an Analysis of it. In the first syllabus we 
have put the views of Mr. Elliott and Mr. Hoare in 
juxta-position: the second syllabus is merely de- 
signed to give a chronological view of the book; 
into the particulars of which we shall not here enter. 



Mr. Elliott. 
1, Introduction. Chap. iv. v. 

Part I. The temporal pros- 
perity ; the decline and fall 
of the Pagan Roman Empire. 
The six first Seals. A.D. 
96—313. Chap. yi. 
Sealing and Palm-bearing 
Vision. Chap. Tii. 

Part II. The sounding of six 
Trumpets. The destruction 
of the AVestern Empire by the 
Goths, and of the Eastern 
Empire by the Saracens and 
the Turks. A.D. 395—1453. 
Chap. viii. ix. 1 — 19. 

Part III. The Eeformation ; 
under the latter half of the 
sixth Trumpet ; including the 
antecedent history, and the 
■ death, resurrection, and as- 
cension of the two Witnesses. 
A.D. U53— 1774. Chap. ix. 
20. X. xi. 1—14. 

Part IV. Supplemental and ex- 
planatory history of the rise, 
character, and establishment 
of the beast from the abyss, 



Mr. Hoare. 

Scene I. Vision of Heaven, &c. 

Chap. iv. 
Scene II. Vision of the Sealed 

Book. Chap. v. 
Scene III, Six Seals opened : 

the number of the sealed. 

Chap. vi. vii. 

Scene IV. The seventh Seal and 
six Trumpets. Chap. viii. ix. 



mighty Angel announces, 
&c. Chap. X. 

Two Vv'itnesses. Chap. xi. 



Scene V. Intermediate Scene, 
in three parts : 

1. Woman ; Dragon. Chap, 
xii. 



9 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



or Popedom, with its ad- 
juncts ; and the contrasted 
impersonation of the Church 
of Christ. A.D. 303, &c. 
Chap. xii. xiii. xiv. 

Part y. The era of the French 
Revolution, as figured under 
the first six Yials of the 
seventh Trumpet. A.D. 1789 
—1830. Chap. xi. 15—19. 
XT, xvi. 1 — 12. xiy. 6 — 8. 

Part TI. The Present and the 
Future, to the Millennium 
and the Final Judgment. 
A.D. 1830, &c. Chap. xiv. 6. 
xTi. 13* — 21. xvii. — xxii. 



2. Two Beasts and Image. 
Chap. xiii. 

3. The Saints ; judgments. 
Chap. xiv. 

The End. Song of the Saints. 
Chap. XV. 1 — 0. 
Scene YI. The seven Yials. 
Chap. XV. 6. xix. 1—10. 



Scene YII. In four parts : 

1. Preparation for the Mil- 
lennium. Chap. xix. 11 — 21. 

2. Satan bound ; Chap. xx. 
1—6 : loosed ; 7 — 9 : cast 
into the lake, 10. 

3. The last Judgment ; Il- 
ia. 

4. New Heaven and New Earth. 
Chap. xxi. 1 — 9. 
The heavenly Jerusalem. 10 
— 27. xxii. 1 — 5. 
Conclusion : 6 — 21. 



2. The Chronology of the Apocalypse; taken from The Har- 
mony of History with Prophecy ;" by Josiah Conder. 

Yision I. Date of the Yisions. (First Septenary.) A.D. 95. 

Y'ision II. First Seal. Prosperous state of the Empire from Nerva 
to Commodus. Chap. vi. 96 — 180. 

Second. Civil discord under the Praetorian sword. 180 — 

Third. Fiscal oppression under the Provincial Governors, 211 — 
Fourth. Era of Mortality. 248— 
Fifth. Persecutions under Decius and Diocletian. 249 — 312. 
Sixth. Overthrow of Paganism. 324—395 

Yision III. Restraint upon the Tempest winds. Chap. vii. 
1—3. 381 — 395, 



INTRODUCTION. 



9 



Sealing of the 144,000. Era of Augustine. Chap. vii. 4, &c. 394. 
Vision IV. Seventh. Death of Theodosius. Chap. viii. 1, &c. 395 

First Trumpet. Alaric and the Goths. Chap. viii. 7. (Second 

Septenary.) 396—410. 

Second. Genseric and the Vandals. Ver. 8. 429 — 477. 

Third. Attila and the Huns. Ver. 10. 450—453. 

Fourth. Odoacer and the Ostrogoths. Ver. 12. 479 — 556. 

Fifth. The Saracens. Chap. ix. 1. 612—762. 

Sixth. The Turks. Ver. 13. 1075—1461. 
Vision V. Descent of the Angel with the open book. Chap. x. 

1517. 

Measurement of the Temple. Chap. xi. 1, 2. 1525. 

Ministry of the Witnesses dates from. Ver. 3, 787. 

War of the Beast commences. Ver. 7. 1179. 

Death and Resurrection of the Witnesses, Ver. 11. 1514—1517. 

Political Elevation of the Witnesses. Ver. 12. 1582. 

Fall of the tenth part of the great City. Ver. 13. 1534. 

Seven Chiliads destroyed. Ver. 13. 1579. 

Cessation of the Second Woe. Ver. 14. 1774. 

Seventh Trumpet. Ver. 15. 1783. 
Vision VI. Retrospective. Birth of the Man-child. Chap. xii. 

1—6. . 312—321. 

Conflict in Heaven. Ver. 7. 313. 

Dragon cast out. Ver. 9. 324. 

Woe in the reign of Valens. Ver. 12. 378—382. 

Absorption of the Draconic Flood. Ver. 16. 406^ 

Flight of the Woman, Ver. 14. 787. 
Vision VII. Rise of the Seven-headed Beast. Chap. xiii. 1, 2. 

774—787 

Healing of the Imperial Head. Ver. 3. 962. 

Rise of the Two-horned Beast. Ver. 11. 1073. 

Triple Proclamation. Chap. xiv. 6—12. 1390—1565. 
Vision VIII. The Harvest. Ver. 14. 1566—1713. 

The Vintage. Ver. 17. 1740—1786. 

Seventh Trumpet. Chap. xv. xvi. 1783, 
Vision IX. First Vial. French Revolution. Chap. xvi. 2. 

(Third Septenary.) 1789. 

Second. Maritime Wars. Ver. 3. 1793—1815. 
B 5 



10 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Third. Wars of the Rhine, Po, and Danube. Yer. 4. 

1793—1805. 

Fourth. French Empire. Ver. 8. 1808—1812. 
Fifth. On the Papacy. Yer. 10. 1809— 1814. 

Sixth. On the Turkish Empire. Yer. 12. 1820. 
Seventh. European Convulsions. Yer. 17. 1848. 



12. The reader of the Apocalypse should bear in 
mind, that he has to examine three successive Sep- 
tenaries, or three larger periods, each of which con- 
sists of seven parts; each part being distinguished 
by some remarkable events in the way of God's pro- 
vidential government of the world. We may now 
take a cursory view of the book according to this 
division. 

i. We have the three Septenaries, with their sub- 
divisions, in chap. vi. ; and viii. and ix. ; and xvi. 

ii. If we examine the intervening chapters, we 
shall find, that in chap. vii. we have an account of 
the Church militant and triumphant from the days 
of the Apostle to the consummation of all things. 

iii. In chap, x., xi. 1, 2, we have the Reforma- 
tion. 

iv. In chap. xi. 2 — 13, we have a concise view of 
the true Church from an early period ; from the rise 
of her adversary to the Eeformation, during that 
event, and to a subsequent period. 

V. Chap, xii — xv, give us a history of the Church 
and of her Adversarj^ from the first age to a late 
period; that is, to, or even beyond, the effusion of 
the Seven Yials. 



INTKODUCTION 



11 



vi. Chap, xvii — xix. 1 — 10 unfold chap. xvi. 
17 — 21 : for particulars we refer to the Analysis. 

vii. At chap. xix. 11 the Apocalypse proceeds 
from chap. xvi. 21 to the consummation. 

13. If we suppose ourselves to be living, as with 
no small probability we may suppose, under the 
sixth, if not under the seventh, Yial. we must say 
nothing about the future, in a chronological viev\^ 
from that point of time. If our view of the book 
be in any tolerable degree correct, it must be evident, 
from the statement given above, that it is by no 
means a confused work, requiring dislocation and 
transposition to be resorted to, before we can make 
any thing of it. We have here, if we may speak 
so, the great drama of the Church and of the World 
set before us in three separate Acts, each of which 
contains an equal number of Scenes. In other words, 
we have here a sublime description, under the veil 
of svmbolical imao'erv. of the oTeat events which are 
to take place upon the arena of the world, Avith an 
immediate reference to the Church, between the 
days of the Apostle and the end of all things. It 
does appear, on the calm examination of this book, 
that the latter ages of the Avorld will abound with 
awful displays of God's righteous judgments on the 
hosts of the ungodly. What other conclusion can 
be drawn from the account of the seventh Yial, 
chap. xvi. 17 — 21? But, not to enlarge on this, 
what a commentary is the Apocalypse on Genesis 
iii. 15? We contemplate, however, with joy and 



12 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



gratitude the result of the long and bitter conflict; 
the triumph of our blessed Eedeemer and of His 
people, and the utter confusion and overthrow of 
the Adversary and of his adherents. 

14. It should be observed, that the seventh Seal 
comprehends the seven Trumpets, and that the 
seventh Trumpet comprehends the seven Vials. 
Further, it must not be supposed, that when a new 
Seal is opened, or Trumpet blown, or Vial poured 
out, the preceding ones entirely terminate; since a 
former one may run parallel for a season with its 
successor, until it is gradually exhausted. — We must 
also remark, that although we have put down 
various historical dates, we do not by any means 
look upon them as unquestionably correct: it is 
quite sufficient for all valuable purposes, that, in the 
leading or principal matters, they are approximations 
to the true dates, and show us the chronological 
character and order of the book. 

15. The wise and humble interpreter of the 
Apocalypse will not venture to say, that he has in 
all cases selected those very facts of history in which 
the predictions were fulfilled. The Apocalypse, 
however, as a prophetical book, must have a his- 
torical fulfilment: and when we find a most mar- 
vellous coincidence between the prophetical an- 
nouncements and the historical records of the eastern 
and western world, not in mere solitary instances, 
but in a vast series of events, through a period of 
more than twenty-four centuries; from Daniel, B.C. 



IXTRODUCTION. 



13 



555, to the present day; we are compelled to hold 
fast the persuasion, that our interpretation, (however 
faulty it may be in some particulars, either as to fact 
or time,) is substantially and upon the whole correct. 
The prophecies contained in this book were designed, 
we must presume, to instruct and warn and comfort 
the true followers of our blessed Lord through all 
ages of the world. AVe must, therefore, expect to 
see the fulfilment of them as ages pass away, so that 
between them and the world's history there shall be 
a manifest and undeniable agreement. And this is 
precisely what we do see : for here the state of the 
Church is faithfully set before us, such as it has been, 
and such as it now is : and here also the character 
of her Adversary is most accurately dehneated ; his 
rise, support, and growth ; his ascendancy and 
tyranny ; his profanity, falsehood, artifice, and 
cruelty. Such being the harmony between the 
announcements of prophecy and the narratives of 
history, as is well known to every scholar, and may 
be known by every one who will compare the one 
with the other, we are satisfied that our general 
view of these prophetical Scriptures is correct. 

16. It mav be observed, and it is indeed a sino-ular 
circumstance, that the Western Empire is the great 
arena upon which, for the most part, the awful strife 
is carried on between the true Church and the false 
one. In this part of the world rose the fourth 
empire of Daniel; and no other empire is to rise; 
no one so connected with the Church as this is: and 



14 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



the termination of its course, when it has fulfilled its 
purpose, is to be followed by the accomplishment 
of Dan. rii. 13, and of Revelation xx. 

17. The reader of the Apocalvpse must call his 
imao:ination into exercise, and realize to a certain 
extent the visions of the Apostle.* He will put 

* The standing Scenery of tlie Apocalypse is thus described by 
Mr. Elliott. — " The Scene first %-isible, and which remained sta- 
tionary throughont the foreground, was as of the interior of a 
temple, including in its secret and inmost sanctuary the throne of 
Jehovah, a:. f company attendant round it. For this 

did not appe:.i m space, or public: but, as seems manifest 

in the progress of the prophetic drama, and is indeed in one place 
directly inrimated, within the inclosure of a temple sanctuary: 
xvi. 17. — It was a temple resembling Solomon's, or, yet more, the 
tabernacle framed earlier by Moses in the wilderness ; although 
on a grander scale, at least as regards the inner sanctuary, and 
with other ma.rked peculiarities. The which resemblance is also 
intimated to us. For it was called upon one occasion the 
temple of God :'" on another, in words only referable to the Jewish 
temple or tabernacle, ''the temple of the tabernacle of witness, in 
heaven." — Moreover, in its parts and divisions it well corresponded 
with that of Israel. The temple proper, or Sanctuary, was 
similarly constituted of the Holy place and that Most holy: save 
that there was no vail, as of old, to separate them : the one being 
characterized by the golden altar of incense^ and, as I think also, 
by the seven burning lamps; the other by the divine glory, and the 
ark of the covenant. A court too apjTrrf ::ached to this sanc- 
tuary, just as to the Jewish, and one 5-i_:-.\:-7 marked by an altar 
of sacrifice standing in it : besides that there was the similar 
appendage of an outer court also, as if of the Gentiles. 

As the visions proceeded, other objects appeared in connected 
landscape, arov: ' ' ' ene::.::: :he temple. Nearest was the 

Mount Zionar. : 11:7 n:: literal Jerusalem, which 

had been levelled 10 the ground, and was now literally in bondage 
with her children ; but that which, though in some things different, 



INTRODUCTION. 



15 



one scene, or one picture, after another, before the 
mind's eye ; so that all the symbolical representations 
shall pass before him. But he must remember that 
he is dealing with Symbols; not with realities them- 
selves, but with the representations of realities. The 
symbols will convey instruction to him just as they 
are rightly understood; for they may be accounted 
to form a sort of picture-language. Our view of 
some of them may be very imperfect; yet most of 
them are sufficiently intelligible. If we think such 
a mode of instruction obscure, we must recollect, 
that it is the mode which was chosen by the Prophet 
of His Church, in order to give her that measure of 
knowledge which He saw to be proper for her: and 
it becomes us to examine with reverence and grati- 
tude the various images and scenes by which He has 
been pleased to communicate to us His purposes, and 

sufficiently resembled it to have the likeness at once recognized, 
and to receive the appellation : — then, beneath and beyond, far- 
stretching, (even as it might have appeared from that high moun- 
tain whence were seen in a moment of time the kingdoms of the 
world and the glory of them,) the miniature but living landscape 
of the Roman Empire. — Both the Mount Zion and the temple 
seem to have appeared high raised above the earth, although not 
altogether detached from it ; and the former, as well as the latter, 
in near proximity to the heavenly glory within the sanctuary. So 
that while, on the one hand, the temple might be called ' the 
temple of the tabernacle of witness in heaven.' and they that were 
true worshippers and citizens in the temple and Mount Zion, ' the 
tabernaclers in heaven,' — yet, on the other, the outer court of the 
temple appeared accessible to the inhabitants of the earth below, 
and the holy city susceptible of invasion from them." 



16 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



to delineate His ways in the government of the 
world. 

18. We wish to observe distinctly, that the 
Apocalypse is invaluable in the way of Caution. 
We cannot here expatiate on our dangers with 
regard to the mystic Babylon, whether they arise 
from her devices and efforts, from our own pride 
and indifference, from the free intercourse of nations, 
or from the peculiar spirit of our age. Whether we 
look to Popery on the one hand, or to Infidehty on 
the other, we exist in circumstances not a httle 
perilous. Whilst we most readily admit, that the 
blessed influence of the Holy Spirit is our life and 
strengtk, our defence and security, we must maintain 
that we cannot be too ahve and awake, too vigilant 
and circumspect. Every mind ought to be instructed 
in the pure Gospel of Christ: every heart ought 
to be established in sound principles. Having the 
Bible, having the sure word of prophecy, we cannot 
be strangers to the character and circumstances of 
the world, unless we be such through wilful negli- 
gence. It would be difficult to explain the make of 
that person's mind, who studies the Apocalypse, and 
does not speedily come to the conclusion, that it is 
an imperative duty to keep at the greatest possible 
distance from Popery. Many may account this 
needless or uncharitable: but what is the voice of 
man when put in comparison with the clear and 
direct instructions of our blessed Lord Himself? 
His words in the Apocalypse are, again and again. 



IISTTRODUCTION. 



17 



explicit, peremptory, and awful: and we must abhor 
what God abhors, if we would escape the plagues 
and torments which He will inflict upon all those 
who set at nought His instructions and warnings. 

19. We must further observe, that this book is 
invaluable both as a Teacher and a Comforter. It 
makes us acquainted, to a certain extent, with the 
ways of God, with the world, and with ourselves. 
Leaving all other considerations out of the question 
at present, we may at some seasons be dispirited and 
full of fear, as we contemplate the spiritual state of 
mankind; but here we may learn, that God is ac- 
complishing his purposes, and that the time will 
come when the Church and each of her true mem- 
bers shall be advanced to bliss and glory. We may 
think, in our sad moments, that Christ is distant 
from His people; but this book teaches us that He 
is present with them. We may think that man's 
wisdom and man's might are guiding and ruling all 
things: but this book makes us acquainted with 
Him who is King of kings and Lord of Lords. It 
is true, that the Church is subject now to affliction 
and distress: such is the divine will respecting her: 
but she may even now and here sing her holy songs, 
and she may look forward to the time when she 
shall cast away her sackcloth, and put on those spot- 
less robes in which she shall shine for ever. As 
Christ's sure word of prophecy announces to us our 
enemies, our dangers, and our afflictions, so does it 
announce to us our friends, our safety, and our con- 
solation. 



18 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



20. Thus far we have written with a view to pre- 
pare the mind of the reader for the profitable study, 
under God's blessing, of the Apocalypse. We have 
still many things of a preparatory kind to put be- 
fore him: and we must request him not to think 
that time to be uselessly spent which may be em- 
ployed on the five Sections into which the Introduc- 
tory part of this work is divided. "We hope that, 
as one pleasing and beneficial result of his labour 
and of ours, he will learn two lessons: first, that it 
is one thing to read the Bible in a cursory way, and 
and another thing so to study it as really to obtain 
some right understanding of it: and, secondly, that 
if one took of the Bible be carefully studied, the 
mind is prepared to read other books of it with 
much greater comfort and advantage. — The present 
work is by no means what it ought to be : but the 
writer saw, or thought he saw, the want of such a 
work for the lower classes : he attempted to supply 
that want, and he has done what -he could. If his 
attempt be a failure, he hopes that some person will 
undertake the delightful, the important, the difficult 
task, and that his labours will be successful. Mean- 
while, may the blessing of God accompany this 
poor feeble effort, so that it may be useful to many 
souls. 



INTRODUCTION. 



19 



SECTION II. 

SYMBOLICAL LANGUAGE. 

If we would read tlie Apocalypse with a right 
understanding of its nature, we must study the 
peculiar language in which it is written; that is, we 
must have a just notion of the Symbols and of the 
Symbolic language in which it may be said to be 
composed. We hope that the present section, there- 
fore, will be useful to the reader in this matter. He 
may recollect that Symbolic language is not confined 
only to this book of Scripture. " The difference 
between a Type and a Symbol lies in this point 
only, that a Type is a real, and a Symbol an unreal 
or ideal, representative of a real object. Thus, in 
the Type, the Spies, (Num. xiii.), who were real 
persons, represented the whole nation ; and the forty 
days of their search, a real period, represented the 
real time of the stay in the wilderness. But in the 
Visions of Daniel or of St. John, the Ten-horned 
Beast, or the Sun-clothed Woman, unreal figures, 
represent an Empire, or the Church of Christ; and 
1260 daj^s, or 42 months, an unreal period, represent 
the true period designed, of so many years." 



20 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Abomin-ations. Rites and ceremonies of the idolatrous and 

corrupt Church of Rome : Rex. xvii. 4. 
Abomination of Desolation. The Roman army ; so called on 

account of ensigns and images worshipped by the soldiers. 

St. Matt. xxiv. 15. 
Abyss. Pit of the abyss. Rev. ix. 1, 2. Hell, Hades ; St. Peter 

2 Ep ii. 4. The prison of Satan and his angels. 
Adultekess, or Harlot. An apostate Church or City. 
Adultery. Idolatry, apostacy from the worship of the true God. 
Angels. Every thing is called an Angel which executes the will 

of God. 

Babylon. Papal Rome : Rev. xiv, 8. 

Beast, Wild. A heathen tyrannical kingdom : Dan. vii. 3, 17. 
The Papal Antichrist : Rev. xiii. 2, 12. 

The rising of a Beast signifies the rise of some new 
dominion or government ; the rise of a wild Beast, the rise 
of/ a tyrannical government : its rising out of the sea, inti- 
mates that it should owe its origin to the commotions of 
the people. ^Yaters are so interpreted, Rev. xvii. lo. 

Bed. Great tribulation and anguish : Rev. ii. 22. 

Blackness, Black. Affliction, disaster, anguish. Rev. vi. 5. 

Bow. Victory : Rev. vi. 2. 

Bride. The Church, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Lamb's wife. 
Brimstone. Perpetual torment and destruction. Rev. xiv. 10. 

Corrupt, infernal, destructive doctrines : Rev. ix. 17, 18. 
Cup. Blessings and favour. Ps. xxiii. 5. 

Afflictions or sufferings. See Wine. 
Darkness. Sin and ignorance ; affliction and misery. Darkness 

of the sun, moon, and stars denotes deficiency in the 

government, or its utter ruin. ' 
Day. In prophetical language denotes a year. 
Death, second. Eternal separation from God's presence and 

glory. 

Dead. Insensibility to sin and corruption. 

Dogs. Unclean, impudent persons ; false teachers. 

Dragon. A king that is an enemy : Ezek. xxix. 3. 

Satan acting and ruling by his ministers. Rev. xii. 9. 
Earthquakes. Great political revolution and changes. 



INTRODUCTION. 



21 



Egypt. A mystical name of tyranny and wickedness. 
Eyes. Omnipresence, as applied to Christ. Rev. v. 6 
Face. Applied to God, it denotes favour. 

Forehead. A public profession or appearance before men. — 
Slaves bore on their foreheads their master's mark : hence, 
to be sealed" is to make a public profession of belonging 
to the person whose mark is received. 

Garments, white. Emblems of purity ; of being in God's favour ; 
also, as worn on festival days, of joy and pleasure. 

Gold. Faith and virtue that will stand a fiery trial : Rev. iii. 18. 

Hail and Fire. The calamities and horrors of war ; Rev. viii. 7. 

Harvest. Some destroying judgment, when people fall as corn 
by the scythe, 

Horn. Horns naturally stand for power, as the strength of 
animals possessing them is placed there : they were sym- 
bols of royal dignity and power : when distinguished by 
number, they signify so many monarchies. 

Horse. Symbol of war and conquest : White, of -victory and tri- 
umph. 

Incense. Prayer : Rev. v. 8. 

Jerusalem. The earthly Jerusalem was a sign, earnest, pattern 

of the heavenly. Rev. iii. 12. 
Keys. Power, authority : Rev. i. 18. 

Lamb. Our blessed Lord, as suffering for the sins of the world : 
Rev. V. 12. 

Lamp : Candlestick. A Christian Church. Golden, precious. 
Leopard. A swift, strong, rapacious enemy. Dan. vii. 6. Alex- 
ander the Great. 
Lion. Emblem of fortitude and strength. 
Locust. Antichristian corrupters of the Gospel. 
Manna. The ineffable joys of immortality. 

Moon. The sun, moon, and stars denote different degrees of 
rank, power, and authority, in a family or state. When a 
kingdom is spoken of, the sun is the symbol of the king, 
and the moon of the next to him in power. 

Mountain. The symbol of a kingdom, or of a capital city with 
its dominions. Zech.iv. 7. Christ's kingdom is so called, 
Dan. ii. 35. Is. ii. 2. 



22 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Mystery. The meaning concealed under figurative resemblances. 
Rev. i. 20. 

Naked. Destitute of the image of God : Rev. iii. 17. 

Names. The persons called by them : Rev. iii. 4. 

Night. Intellectual darkness ; adversity : Rev. xxi. 25. 

Numbers. Two denote a few; three, or third, greatness, excel- 
lency, perfection ; four, universality of the matter contained 
therein. The four corners of the earth denote all parts of 
the earth. Seven denotes a large, complete, yet indefinite 
number. Ten denotes many. 

Palm, branches of. Symbols of joy after a victory, attended with 
antecedent suffering. 

Paradise. The invisible residence of the blessed : Rev. ii. 7. 

Pillar, or Column. Firmness and duration. 

Sea. a great multitude of nations. The Gentiles, Is. Ix. 5. 

Seal, Sealing. Preservation and security ; secresy; completion 
aud perfection ; restraint ; propriety in a thing. 

Serpent. Satan ; the enemy of our souls ; Rev. xii. 9. 

Sodom and Gomorrah. Any apostate city or people ; the 
wicked world at large : Rev. xi. 8. 

Stars, Ecclesiastical rulers, as to the Church ; Civil rulers, as 
to the State. 

Stone, White. A full pardon and acquittal ; Rev. ii. 17. 
Tree of Life. A blessed Immortality. 

Waters. A multitude of people ; Rev. xvii. 15. Troubles and 

affiictions ; Ps. Ixix, 1. 
"Week. Seven years. Dan. ix. 24. 

Winds. The strife, wars, and commotions of nations. Holding 
the four winds" — emblem of peace and tranquillity. 

Wine. Spiritual blessings ; Is. xxv. 6. — Divine judgments : 
Rev. xiv. 8, 10 : reference is made to the wine mixed with 
noxious ingredients, given to malefactors about to suffer death 

Wine-Press. To tread a wine-press is a prophetic description of 
destruction ; Is. Ixxiii. 3. The largest wine-presses used 
to be in some places out of the city : hence the expression 
in Rev. xiv. 20. 

Woman. 1 . A city, state, body politic, or the inhabitants thereof. 

2. The true Church of Christ : Rev. xii. 1. 

3. The false, apostate Church : Rev. xvii. 3, 4, 6, 7. 



INTEODUCTION. 



23 



SECTION III. 

A CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE PROPHECIES 
IX THE OLD TESTAMENT RESPECTING CHRIST 
AND HIS KINGDOM; AND ALSO A SLIGHT VIEW 
OF THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 

Part 1. Prophecies of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1. Between B.C. 4004 and 3000. 

1. Genesis iii. 15. " And I will put enmity be- 
tween thee and the woman, and between thy seed 
and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou 
shall bruise his heel." 

2. St. Jude, ver. 14, 15. " And Enoch also, the 
seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, 
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand," &c. 

2. Between B.C. 3000 and 2000. 

1. To Abraham; Gen. xii. 3. "In thee shall all 
families of the earth be blessed." 

2. To Isaac; Gen. xxvi. 4. 

3. To Jacob; Gen. xxviii. 14. 

4. To Jacob; Gen. xlix. 10. The sceptre shall 
' not depart from Judah," &c. 



24 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



3. Between B.C, 2000 and 1000. 

1. Exodus XXV. &c. The ceremonial law may be 
viewed as a prediction of our blessed Lord, as well 
as a foresliadowing of Him, and of the redemption 
which we have in Him. The same may be said of 
the Patriarchal Sacrifices. 

2. Balaam's prophecy, Xum. xxiv. 17. "There 
shall come a star out of Jacob," &c. 

3. The prediction of Moses, Deut. xviii. 15; 
" The Lord thy God will raise unto thee a prophet 
from the midst of thee," &c. 

4. The prediction of Job, chap. xix. 25; For I 
know that my Eedeemer liveth," &c. 

5. The prophecies of David. Several of the 
Psalms are directly prophetical of Christ; as Ps. 2, 
16, 22, 40, 45, 68, 72, 87, 110, 118; and many of 
the rest refer to Him, wholly or in part. If before 
David's days the prophecies of Christ are as solitary 
stars, they may be said to exist in the Psalms as 
constellations, or as a luminous galaxy, adorning 
the firmanent of the Church. 

4. Between B.C. 1000 and 1. 

Merelv using round number, we may take away 
the first 200 of this thousand years, and divide the 
remaing 800 into two periods of 400 years each; 
and in these we have what we may term, the 
Prophetical Period, and the Period of Expectation, 



INTRODUCTION. 



25 



i. The Prophetical period : 5. C 856— 420. 

1. Jonah. Compare Jonah i. 17 and St. Matt, 
xii. 39, 40. 

2. Amos. Chap. ix. 11 — 15; Acts xv. 16, 17. 

3. Isaiah. Chap. ii. 1 — 5; vii. 14; ix. 1 — 7; 

xxxii. ; xhx. ; lii., Hii.; Ixi. 

4. Joel. Chap. ii. 28—32. Acts ii. 16—21. 

5. Micah. Chap. iv. 1 — 7; v. 1 — 4. 

6. Jeremiah. Chap, xxiii. 5, 6; xxxi. 31 — 34; 

xxxiii. 15, 16. 

7. Daniel. (See Part II. of this Section.) 

8. Ezekiel. Chap. xvii. 22—24; xxxiv. 21—31 ; 
xxxvi. 21—38. 

9. Haggai. Chap. ii. 6— 9. 

10. Zechariah. Chap, xiii., xiv. 

11. Malachi. Chap. iii. 1 — 6; iv. 2, 3. 

ii. The Period of Expectation. 

With Malachi the voice of Prophecy ceased to 
speak, and then believers waited for the coming of 
Him who was to be the consolation of Israel." 
St. Luke ii. 25, 38. xxiii. 51. 

Part II. Prophecies of the kingdoms of this world, 
and of the Kingdom of Christ. — Daniel was 
favoured with five Prophetic Visions; the 1st, 
2nd, 3rd, and 5th relating to temporal kingdoms 
and to Christ's Kingdom; the 4th, to the suffer- 
ings of Christ and the overthrow of Jerusalem. 
(Note A.) 

c . 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



1. Temporal, 

1. Of the Great Image: Chap. ii. 36—45. B.C. 
603. 

2. Of the four Beasts: vii. 1—28. 555. 

3. Of the Ram and He-goat: viii. 1 — 27. 553. 

4. Of the Seventy Weeks: ix. 1—27. 537. 

5. Of the Scriptures of Truth: x, xi, xii. 534. 
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Visions, relating to the 

same subject, may be thus viewed together. 



1. Chap. ii. The 
Great Image. 

1. Head of fine gold ;: 

ver. 32. | 
Babylonjan Empire ;! 
ver. 37, 38. ! 

2. Breast and arms of 

silver, ver. 32. 
Persian Empire, 
ver. 39. 

3. Belly and thighs of 

brass ; ver. 32. 
Macedo- Grecian 
Empire ; ver. 39. 

4. Legs of iron, feet, 

&c., ver. 33. 
Roman Empire ; 
ver. 40—43. 



2. Chap. vii. Four 
Great Beasts. 

A Lion with eagle's 
wings ; ver. 4. 



A Bear ; ver. 5. 



A Leopard ; ver. 6. 



A Beast ; dreadful, 
&c., ver. 7. 



2. Spiritual, 



3. Chap. viii. Ram 
and He- goat. 



A Ram with two 
horns ; ver. 3, 4. 
Ver. 20. 

A He-goat ; ver. 

5—8. 
Ver. 21. 



I. Christian. The Kingdom of Christ; repre- 
sented (chap. ii. 34, 45,) by " A stone cut out of 
the mountain without hands;" i.e. of men : and we see, 

1. Its strength; Ver. 34, 35, 45. 

2. Its growth or increase; Ver. 35. 

3. Its stabiHty and perpetuity; Ver. 44. 
Solemn and dehghtful mention is further made 

of this kingdom in chap. vii. 9 — 14, and 22 — 28. 



INTRODUCTION. 



27 



II. Anti-christian. 1. Western. (Note B.) 

This kingdom is represented, chap. vii. 8, by the 
symbol of a httle horn;" and it is more fully de- 
scribed, ver. 20— 26.— The little horn" of Daniel 
is the Beast of St. John, Revelation, chap, xiii, xvii; 
and both are predictions of the Papacy. This 
hostile and impious power is thus delineated : 

1. As to its origin, or the time of its rise; Chap, 
vii. 8, 20. 

2. As to its intelligence or craftiness; Chap. vii. 
8, 20. 

3. As to its pride, boasting, and impiety; Chap, 
vii. 8, 20, 25. 

4. As to its cruelty and power for a season; 
Chap. vii. 21, 25. 

5. As to its duration; Chap. vii. 25, 

6. As to its final overthrow; Chap. vii. 11, 26. 
2. Eastern. (On chap. viii. 1 — 8, see Note C.) 
The explanation of the latter part of Chap. viii. is 

by no means easy. In Ver. 9 — 14 is a prophecy of 
a little horn;" of ''a king of fierce countenance:" 
but this horn cannot be that which is mentioned in 
Chap. vii. 8 ; for it springs up from one of the four 
parts (Ver. 8, 9,) into which Alexander's empire 
was divided: we therefore look for it in the East; 
whereas the little horn of Chap. vii. springs up in 
the Roman Empire, that is, in the West. The ex- 
pression in Ver. 9, ''out of one of them," forbids 
our looking upon this little horn as a symbol of the 
Roman Empire. The most satisfactory view seems 

c2 



28 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



to be, that it is a symbol of the Turkish power: 
and if this be the case, we may be here reminded of 
the sixth Trumpet, and of the sixth Yial, in the 
Apocalypse : and then we find both Daniel and St. 
John speaking of the Eastern as well as of the 
Western world. 

The chronology of chap. viii. 14 is thus stated. 
The 2300 years cannot begin earlier than B.C. 538, 
or 536, the date of the supremacy of the Persian and 
Median kingdom; and they cannot begin after B.C. 
480 or 479, when the supremacy departed from 
Persia. In the interval the Ram fulfilled his career 
of conqijest. If we fix on the year B.C. 480, when 
Xerxes and the Persians were defeated in Greece, 
we have 2300—480 = 1820; and it has been ob- 
served, that from the year A.D. 1820 the exhaustion 
of the Turkish power has been going on with re- 
markable rapidity. 

4. Of the seventy iceeJcs: Chap. ix. 24 — 27. 

The 70 weeks denote 490 years (70 X 7,); and 
these are divided, Ver. 25, 27, into three periods; 
7 weeks, 62 weeks, and 1 week; that is, into 49 
years, 434 years, and 7 years. We find from his- 
tory that, 

1. The 7 wrecks, or 49 years, form the period 
assigned for the restoration and repair of Jerusalem 
after the commission given by Artaxerxes, Ezra vii. 
1—10; from B.C. 458 to 409. 

2. The 62 weeks, or 434 years, bring us to A.D. 



INTRODUCTION. 



29 



26; — the life of our blessed Lord before John the 
Baptist began his ministry. 

3. The one week, or seven rears, is the time em- 
ployed in "the confirmation of the covenant;" and 
it comprehends both the ministry of John and of 
our Lord. " Li the midst of the week," or half-part 
of it, that is, in the latter three years and a half of 
the seven years, our Lord caused the sacrifice and 
oblation to cease" by the Sacrifice of Himself 

By the people of the prince," ver. 26, are to be 
understood the Eoman army under the command of . 
Titus, the son of the Emperor Vespasian. 

0. Of the Smjjture of Truth. 

Part L Chap, x., xi. 1—30. 

The range of prophecy in chap. xi. 1 — 30 occu- 
pies the interval between B.C. 534 and 160: and ■ 
we have here^a most remarkable outline of Egyptian, 
Syrian, and Jewish history during about 374 years; 
given, we presume for the instruction and comfort 
of pious Jews during a very troubled and painful 
state of their country. AVhat a proof have we here 
of the foreknowledge and providence of God ! 
Chap. xi. 2. Three kings of Persia. 

Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. B.C. 529. 
Smerdis, an usurper. B.C. 522. 
Darius Hystaspes. B.C. 521. 
Fourth king, Xerxes. B.C. 485. 
Ver. 3. A mighty king: Alexander the Great. 
B.C. 336, d. 323. 



30 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Yer. 4. See chap. viii. 8. Egypt to the south; 
Syria to the east; Thrace and Bithynia to the north; 
and Macedonia to the west : such was the division of 
Alexander's dominions. But in this chapter, Syria 
is meant by the north, since it lay to the north of 
Egypt- 
Egypt; South; the Ptole-'Syria ; Xorth; the Seleu- 

\ cidse. 

One of the princes.'* 
Seleucus Xicator. 
; Era of the Seleucid^. 
iB.C. 312. 

(Antiochus Soter: 279) 



mies. 

5. Ptolemy Lagus; 



B.C. 323. 



6. P.tolemy Philadel-I 
phus. B.C. 284. I 

His daughter Bernicej 
married Antiochus Theus.j 

7. Polemy Euergetes:, 
Bernice's brother: 246. j 

A branch of the root! 
whence she sprang, 

9. " His kingdom ;" ofi 
Seleucus Callinicus. 

10. His sons;'' those 
of Callinicus. 

1 1 . Ptolemy Philopa-; 
tor. 221. 

"Fight:" Battle at Ea-: 



Antiochus Theus : 260. 
Seleucus Callinicus : 24o 



Seleucus Ceraunus : 225 

Antiochus the Great : 
222—187. 

Set forth:" Antiochus 



phia, on the Egyptian fron- shall do it. 



tier. 



, ' 'His hand;" into Ptole- 
Imy's. 



INTEODUCTION. 



31 



12. His heart:" Ptole- 
my's: he gained a great 
victory, but did not im- 
prove it. 

13. 

14. Ptolemy Epiphanes 
B.C. 204. 

*'Eobbers:" Jews who 
revolted from Ptolemy to 
Antiochus : they wished 
to build a temple in Egypt 
to fulfil Is. xix. 18—22. 

15,16. '^Glorious land:" 
Judea. Antiochus van- 
quished Scopas, Ptolemy's 
general, in a great battle 
at Paneas, near the foun- 
tains of the Jordan, and 
recovered all he had lost 
the former year. 

17. 

18. 



The king of the north : 
the same Antiochus. 



^'Daughter:" Cleopatra, 
daughter of Antiochus. 

''Isles;" of the Mediter- 
ranean. 192. 

"A prince:" the Con- 
sul, Acilius Glabrio. 

'' Own reproach :" he 
sustained no defeat. 



32 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



''Eaiser." SeleucusPhi- 
lopator. 186. 

" Vile." Antiochus Epi- 
phanes. 175. 

''Prince." Onias the 
Higli Priest was removed. 



20. 
21. 
22. 

25. Ptolemy Philome- 
ter. 180. 

27. "Lies:" this they 
did at the same table at 
Memphis. 

28. "Exploits." He took Je- 
rusalem ; profaned the tem- 
ple; &c. 

30. "Forsake:" the 
apostate Jews. 

Ver. 30. " Ships of Chittim;" that is, the Ro- 
mans. The legate Popilius drew a circle in the sand 
round Antiochus, and demanded an immediate 
answer. Antiochus submitted to the will of the 
Senate, and left Egypt, B.C. 168. He then vented 
his rage on the Jews in the most horrible manner. 
Matthias, a priest, with his five valiant sons, took 
up arms against him. This was the rise of the 
Maccabees, who have their name from the artificial 
word Maccabi; formed from the first letters of the 
motto upon their standard, " Mi Camoka Baelim, 
Jehovah;" that is, "Who is like unto Thee, 
Lord, among the gods?" Ex. xv. 11. 

On this wonderful prophecy, so singularly minute 



INTRODUCTION. 



33 



and circumstantial, it has been justly observed, No 
one could thus declare the times and seasons, but 
He who hath them in His own power." Acts i. 7. 

Part 11. Chap. xi. 31. xii. (Note D.) 

In this part of the Prophecy we have five sec- 
tional subdivisions. 

1. The setting up of the abomination, &c. Chap, 
xi. 31. 

2. Following events to the rise of the wilful king. 
Chap. xi. 32—35. 

3. The description of the wilful king. Chap. xi. 
36—39. 

4. The enterprizes of the king of the north and 
of the king of the south. Chap. xi. 40 — 45. 

5. The consummation: the dehverance and bless- 
edness of the good : chap. xii. 

1. The abomination, &c., ver. 31, seems to refer 
to the desolation of Jerusalem by the Eomans. 

2. Whether Jews or Christians be spoken of in 
ver. 32 — 35, two sorts of character are manifestly 
described; the unfaithful and the faithful: and then 
Vv-e see the destruction of some, and the trials and 
persecutions of others for their purification. 

3. The wilful or apostate king, ver. 36 — 39, 
seems to refer to the great and then future papal 
Antichrist. If this be correct, we have here a more 
minute account of the power symbolized by the little 
horn; chap= vii. 

4. If in ver. 40 the time of the end" points out 

c 5 



34 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



" the later times of the Christian dispensation," we 
may understand by the king of the south the Sara- 
cens; and by the king of the north, the Turks. But 
the expression may describe a period that is still 
future; and in that case, conjecture is useless. 
5. On chap. xii. we may remark, 

1 . That there is to be a time of great tribulation ; 
ver. 1. 

2. That God's faithful servants shall be delivered, 
and advanced to unspeakable honour and happiness; 
ver. 1 — 4. 

3. That we have, ver. 5 — 13, three periods of 
time to consider: i. ver. 7, ''a time, times, and a 
half;" tliat is, 360, 720, and 180; or 1260 years. 
— ii. ver. 11, 1290 days, or years; and, iii. ver. 12, 
1335 days, or years. — These periods date from the 
same epoch, ver. 11; but we cannot fix that epoch 
with certainty. If Mohammedanism be the abomi- 
nation spoken of, we should fix on A.D. 606, or 612, 
as the epoch; and then we should have, 1260 -f 612 
=1872; the subversion of the kingdom of Anti- 
christ. 1290 + 612 = 1902 ; the extirpation of Anti- 
christian po^Ye^s. 1335 + 612 = 1947 ; the iniroduc- 
tion of the ^Millennium. 

Let us think and speak of such matters with diffi- 
dence and modesty. "Without doubt," says a pious 
commentator, " this period is approaching, and not 
very far distant ; though I dare not hazard an opinion 
about the exact time when these years are to be 
dated." 



INTRODUCTION. 



35 



NOTES ON DANIEL. 

Note A. We should bear in mind, that some of the prophecies 
of Daniel, and especially those which relate to Christ's Kingdom, 
are immediately connected with those of St, John in the Apoca- 
lypse ; the latter, indeed, being a full development of the former, 
and a commentary on them. In both these prophets many things 
will be found which are of difficult interpretation, and which 
cannot be positively interpreted. We have reason to be thankful 
that so much is clear. But it is a part of sound knowledge to see 
where the barriers are beyond which we cannot pass, except it be 
to amuse ourselves with conjectures and to perplex ourselves amidst 
uncertainties. In the study of prophecy, the words of our blessed 
Lord, Acts i. 7, ought never to be forgotten : — " It is not for you 
to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in 
His own power." 

Note B. A few explanatory notes on Daniel, chap. vii. 
Ver. 2. The great sea. The Mediterranean. Winds : see 
Symbolic Language. 

3. Beasts : see Symbolic Language. 

4. A Lion, the king of beasts ; an Eagle, of birds : courageous, 
strong, swift. 

5. A Bear : grim, ravenous, barbarous. — *' On one side" — on 
the east of Babylon. — " Three ribs" — perhaps Babylon, Lydia> 
and Egypt. 

6. A Leopard : fierce and swift. — Four heads" — Syria, Egypt, 
Macedonia, Thrace. 

7. Ten Horns. See Rev. xvii. 12. These horns denote ten 
kingdoms which rose on the ruin of the old Roman Empire. These 
are given by the learned with some variation : we here put down 
two enumerations of them. 

(1.) A.D. 488—490.-1. Anglo-Saxons. 2. Franks. 3. Alle- 
mans. 4. Burgundians. 5. Visigoths. 6. Suevi. 7. Vandals. 
8. Heruli. 9. Bavarians. 10. Ostrogoths. 

(2.) A.D. 532.— 1. Anglo-Saxons. 2. Franks of central France. 
3. Allman -Franks of eastern France* 4. Burgundic-Franks of 
south-eastern France. 5. The Visigoths. 6. The Suevi. 7. The 



36 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Vandals. 8. The Ostrogoths in Italy. 9. The Bavarians. 10. 
The Lombards. 

8. A little Horn. The Papacy. 1. It rose as a spiritual power 
between A.D. 430 and 530. — 2. Its rise to temporal power is thus 
stated, i. Pepin the Short conferred the Exarchate and Pentapo- 
lis upon Pope Stephen II. A.D. 756. — ii. The kingdom of the 
Lombards was given to St. Peter by Charlemagne, A.D. 774. — 
iii. In A.D. 816 Louis I. confirmed the gift of the Dukedom of 
Rome. " Three plucked up the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and 
Lombards. 

9. Thrones : The kingdoms of the world. 

11. Slain : Papal Rome and its hierarchy : Rev. xix. 19, 20. 
13. The Son of man : The Messiah ascended to glory. 
21. Prevailed : Persecuted and for a time succeeded : Rev- 
xiii. 7. 

25. A time,. &c. If we date the rise of the little horn at A.D. 
756, or 77^, he continues to A.D. 2016, or 2034. But an earlier 
date may be taken. 

26, 27. See Rev. xix. 1—6. 

Note C. On chap. viii. 1 — 8. 

3, 4. A Ram. Persia : two horns or kingdoms ; the higher of 
them, Persia ; the other, Media. — Westward, Greece ; Northward, 
Scythia ; Southward, Egypt. — Cyrus, B.C. 559 : Darius Codo- 
mannus, B.C. 336. 

5. He-goat: the Macedo-Grecian Empire. — Notable horn: 
Alexander the Great : B.C. 336—323. 

7. Smote : the Persians were conquered in the battle of Arbela, 
B.C. 331. 

8. Four horns. See page 30 ; ver. 4. 
Note D. On chap. xi. 31 — 45. 

31, "Arms:" military power : the Romans. — "On his part;" 
from or after him. — " Pollute ;" St. Matt. xxiv. 15. — They built, 
A.D. 132, a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus where the temple of God 
had stood. 

32. " Such as, &c." — Christian Jews. — " Shall he"— the Roman 
power. — " The people" — true and faithful Christians. 



INTRODUCTION. 



37 



33. "They that understand" — primitive Christians. — "Instruct" 
— preach the Gospel. — " Fall" — suffer persecution. There were 
ten State Persecutions within the first three centuries. 

34. "When:" In the storm of the 10th persecution. — "Holpen:'' 
by Constantine. — " Cleave :" become Christians because the Em- 
peror was such. 

35. *^ Of understanding:" disputes with, and persecutions of, 
each other. 

36. "The king:" An Anti-christian power: in the west, the 
Bishop of Rome. — " The indignation :" God's indignation against 
the Jews : chap. viii. 19. ix. 27. xii. 7. 

37. "Regard the God:" Councils, traditions, and apocryphal 
writings have taken the place of God and His word. — "Desire, &c;" 
compulsory celibacy. 

38. " God of forces :" Mahuzzim ; gods protectors : worshipping 
saints and angels as guardians, protectors, and mediators. — 
" Gold, &c :" shrines of saints; decorated images, &c. 

39. " Strong holds :" this has been translated — " defenders," 
and referred to monks, priests, &c. 

40. "King of the south:" the Saracens. — "At him" — the 
Greek emperor. — " The king of the north :" the Turks. 

41. " Glorious land :" shall subdue Judea, 

42. " He shall stretch:" the Ottoman emperors shall, &c. 

44. " Tidings :" this part of the prophecy is allowed to be yet 
unfulfilled. 

45. "He shall plant:" He who reads Ezek. xxxix ; Joel iii ; 
Zech. xii ; will probably conclude, that there is to be a signal 
overthrow and destruction of an Anti-christian confederacy in the 
mountains of Judah or Israel. See also Rev. xvi. 16 ; xx. 9. — It 
is but just to observe, that this part of the prophecy, ver. 31 — 45, 
is of difficult interpretation. 



38 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



SECTION lY. 

PART I. PROPHECIES OF THE PAPACY IN THE 
EPISTLES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

1. CoUossians iii. 16 — 19. 2. 2 Thessalonians ii. 
3—10. 3. 1 Timothy iv. 1—3. 4. 2 Timothy iii. 
1_5. 5. St. Jude ver. 8, 10, 16. 

On the passages referred to under the figures 1 , 
4, 5, it may be needless to oflFer any remarks. They 
describe 'lawless, infidel, and profligate times; the 
frightful results of corrupt religion and of false 
philosophy. The first passage may, indeed, be re- 
garded as being descriptive of popish errors and cor- 
ruptions as well as of those which the Apostle may 
have had more immediately in his view. But we 
consider the second and third passages as immediate 
predictions of the Papacy. 

2 Thessalonians ii. 3 — 10. 

Yer. 3. " Falling away." Apostasy, corruption, 
abandonment. 

Man of sin:" emphatically the man of iniquity. 
Son of perdition," or destruction: one who de- 
stroys himself and others. 

4. Opposeth," &c. stands against, and exalts 
himself above, divine authority, as if he were the 
source of doctrines and ordinances. 



IXTEODUCTIOX. 



39 



" Sitteth:" has the highest place and authority in 
the Church; acting as God; assuming His titles, 
and claiming His authority. 

6. "What Tvithholdeth:" hinders, or restrains: 
namely, the pagan Eoman power or empire. 

7. "Mystery the corrupt doctrine already exists, 
though yet hidden. — " Letteth:" see ver. 6. 

8. "Consume:" This wicked one will ultimately 
fall before the might of divine truth. See Dan. vii. 
11, 26. Eev. xix.^lo. 

9. " Satan:" according to the energy or inward 
working of Satan. 

"Power," &c., all kinds of pretended miracles; 
hdng appearances only of what was real; feigned 
tokens and wonders to deceive mankind. 

10. " Deceivableness :" all unrighteous deceit; or 
all sorts of unrighteousness managed with subtlety 
to deceive men. 

1 Timothy iv. 1 — 3. 

Ver. 1. "Depart:" apostatize. — "Seducing spi- 
rits:" spirits of deceit. — "Devils:", daemons, dead 
men, &c. 

2. " Lies," &c., pretending to inspiration, holiness, 
&c., in order to gain credit to their lies, or false 
doctrines. — " Seared:" cauterized; insensible to all 
right feeling. 

3. "Marry:" compulsory celibacy. 

Such is Popery: and we must not here omit to 
observe, that in 2 Thess. ii. 10 — 12, we have a most 



40 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



awful passage of Holy Writ. The Papist, and we 
may add the Infidel, must here ficd himself com- 
pelled to ascribe his error to one source, namely, to 
his own wilful and obstinate disaffection to the truth. 
He will not submit to, and receive the plain and 
clear word of God. The infidel is a proud idolater 
of himself — of what he calls Eeason. The papist 
may be said to be an abjurer of his own reason, 
since he listens to fallible men, surrenders himself to 
them, and is ruled by their dictation. He thus puts 
what he calls the Church in the place of God's word. 
He seems to have no notion of his own responsibility 
to God for the use that he makes of his faculties and 
of his means of grace. He prefers man's he to God's 
truth ; his own sinful ways to God's righteous laws : 
and the result of such irrational and perverse conduct 
is here most faithfully put before him in fearful and 
awful terms. 



INTRODUCTION. 



41 



SECTION Y. 

AN ANALYTICAL VIEW OF THE APOCALYPSE. 
INTRODUCTION: CHAP. I. 

Chap. i. 1 — 3. Author; Design; Messenger; De- 
claration of blessing. 

4 — 6. Address to the Seven Churches : ascription 
of glory and power to Christ. 

7. A solemn prediction or assurance. 

8. Christ's declaration respecting Himself 

PART I. 

Chap. i. 9 — 20, ii., iii. " The Things which are:" . 
Chap. i. 19. 

9 — 11. Of John; his circumstances and com- 
mission. 

12 — 16. A view, in vision, of the seven Churches 
and of Christ. 

17 — 20. Fear, encouragement, direction, explana- 
tion. 

Chap. ii. Epistle to the chief minister of the 
Church of Ephesus; 1 — 7. Of the Church in 
Smyrna, 8 — 11. In Pergamos, 12 — 17. In Thya- 
tira, 18—29. 

Chap. iii. In Sardis, 1 — 6. In Philadelphia, 
7—13. Of the Laodiceans, 14—22. {Note A.) 



42 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



PART II. 

Chap. iv. xxii. Tlie Things which shall be 
hereafter:" Chap. i. 19. 

Scene I. First Part. 

Chap. iv. 1 — 3. Vision of Heaven and of God* 

4 — 7. Vision of twenty-four Elders and four 
living creatures f 

8 — 10. The heavenly worship. 
11. I. Anthem: celebrating the Glory of God as 
the Creator. 

Scene /. Second Part. 

Chap. v. 1 — i. Vision of the seven-sealed book : 
St. John's sorrow. 

5 — 7. He is comforted by the Lamb's taking the 
book. 

8 — 10. II. Anthem: celebrating the Glory of 
Christ as the Redeemer. 

11 — ^14. Adoration and joy in heaven and in 
earth. 

Scene IT. ^ First Part. 

Six Seals opened; Prosperity and decline of the 

^ See Introduction ; Section I. {'Sote A.) 

t Of the twenty-four Elders and four living creatures, it may 
suffice to observe, that they are symbols of the Church, or collec- 
tive body of the saints of God: Chap. t. 8, 9. In the number 
twenty-four there may be a reference to the twelve patriarchs and 
the twelve Apostles, The number four may intimate complete- 
ness, or the whole. 



I^^TRODUCTIOlSr 



43 



pagan Roman Empire; Persecution; Subversion of 
Paganism . 

Chap. vi. 1, 2. First Seal: a White Horse; the 
Eoman empire prosperous. A.D. 96 — 180. 

3, 4. Second: a Eed Horse: terror, cruelty, 
Praetorian guards. 180 — 

5, 6, Thi]"d: a Black Horse: mourning and dis- 
tress; oppression. 211 — 

7, 8. Fourth: a Pale Horse: Sword and Pesti- 
lence. 248— 

9 — 11. Fifth: the Martyrs: Era of Persecution. 
Diocletian. 249—313. 

12 — 17. Sixth: Earthquake, &c., Political and 
Moral Convulsions : the age of Constantine. 304 — 
323. 

Scene II. Second Pcirt. 

Chap. vii. 1 — 3. The four ^Yinds restrained. A.D. 
323—395.* 

4 — 8. The Sealing Vision. 
9. The Palm-bearing Vision. 

10 — 12. III. Anthem: ascribing Salvation unto 
God, and unto the Lamb. 

13 — 17. The blessedness of Christ's true followers. 

* W^e assign the Sealing Vision to A.D. 323 — 39o, only so far 
as we may conceive it to apply to the true Christians of that period. 
But if Tve compare chap. vii. and xiv. we shall be led to look upon 
the 144000 who were sealed as, symbolically, the representatives 
of the true Church through all ages ; comparatively few, in re- 
ference to all mankind in any age, but ultimately amounting to a 
countless multitude. In this view, the Sealed are the same with 
the two Witnesses and those who received their message. 



44 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Scene III, Fij^st Part. 

Chap. viii. The sounding of four Trumpets: A.D. 
396, &c. 

Ver. 1. The seventh Seal opened, preparing for 
and comprehending the seven Trumpets. 

1 — 6. I. Syllabus. The half hour's Silence is 
considered to denote 70 or 80 years, between A.D. 
324 and 395, Avhen Theodosius died. 

7. First Trumpet. Hail, &c.: Alaric and Goths; 
Italy. A.D. 396—410. 

8,9. Second: Great Mountain, &c. : Genseric and 
Vandals; Africa. 429 — 439. 

10, IJ. Third: A Star, &c.: Attila and Huns: 
Germany and Italy. 442 — 453. 

12. Fourth: A third part of the sun smitten, &c. 
Odoacer and the Heruli: Augustulus dethroned. 
475, 476. 

13. Announcement of three Woes; the 5th, 6th, 
and 7th Trumpets. An interval of 40 or 45 years, 
from Justinian's death, or the estabhshment of the 
Lombards in Italy, to the rise of the Saracens. 565, 
568, to 610, &c. 

Scene III. Second Part. 

Chap. ix. The sounding of the fifth and sixth 
Trumpets. 

i. The Locust Woe: Mohammed and the Sara- 
cens. A.D. 612—762; and to 934. 

Ver. 1 — 3. Fifth Trumpet: A star, key, smoke, 
locusts. {Note B.) 



INTRODUCTION. 



45 



4 — 6. Their commission: tlie misery they occa- 
sioned. 

7 — 1 ] . Description of them : their king. 

12. One Woe past: intimation of an interval be- 
tween the first and second woe. 

ii. The Euphratean or Turkish Woe. A.D. 1057 
—1453, or 1281—1672. {Note C.) 

13 — -15. Sixth Trmiipet : the four angels loosed: 
the appointed time. 

16, 17. dumber and description of the army. 

18, 19. Their deadly influence. 

20, 21. Impenitence of men: true both of the 
eastern and western world. 

Scene IV. First Part. 

The Eeformation: A.D. 1517 — 1553. 

Chap. X. 1 — 3. A mighty angel; a little book 
open; a loud voice. 

3,4. Seven thunders. Papal bulls and anathemas. 

5 — 7. The oath and declaration of the angel. A 
further epoch of advance in the Eeformation. 

8 — 11. xi. 1,2. Progress and Ecclesiastical Es- 
tablishment of the Reformation; "measuring" de- 
noting the edification and constitution, as well as 
the definition, of wdiat is measured. 

Section IV, Second Part. 

Matters before, during, and subsequent to, the 
Reformation. 



46 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Chap. xi. 2 — 6. Depression of the Church: the 
two Witnesses; their power. (Note D.) 

7 — 10. They are persecuted by the Beast, and 
overcome by him. 

11, 12. Their revival and exultation. 

13. An earthquake: a tenth part of the city felL 

14. The second Woe ended: A.D. 1774: an- 
nouncement of the third Woe. 

15. The seventh Trumpet sounded: A.D. 1789. 
15 — 18. II. Syllabus; preparatory to the pouring 

out of the Vials. 

IV. Anthem : Celebrating the Glory of God in 
the comino; of His Kino^dom. — St. John seems to 
pass on to future times, and celebrates the prevalence 
of the Truth, and God's righteous judgments. 

19. The temple of God opened: an indication of 
the opening of Christ's Church to the world so as it 
never had been opened; but this is preceded by 
God's judgments; that is, by the seven Vials. 

An Intermediate Scene; Chap. xii. — xv. 1 — 5. 

Scene V, In Four Parts. 

Part I. Pagan Rome, and till it became Papal, 
A.D. 33—756. 

1. Before Constantine. A.D. 33—312. 

Chap. xii. 1. A woman, &c. ; Symbol of the true 
Church in her real character. 

2. Pained: she had converts in sorrow by reason 
of persecution. 



INTRODUCTION. 



47 



3, 4. Eed Dragon: the Pagan Eoman Empire, 
instigated by Satan. 

5. Man-child: Symbol of Christian people col- 
lectively. 

6. Fled: her first flight, or depression: corrup- 
tions began early. 

7 — 9. Conflict between the Gospel and paganism : 
the latter degraded. 

10— 12. V. Anthem. The joy of the Church; 
or a Song of Triumph. 

2. After Constantine. A.D. 337, &c. 

13. Fresh persecutions. 

14. Fly. Her second flight, or further depres- 
sion : more corruptions. 

15. A\"ater. Invasion of the barbarous tribes: 
also heresies. 

16. Helped. The emperors flivoured Christianity: 
the barbarians received it. 

17. Satan's continued opposition. 

Part 11. Papal Rome, from about A.D. 756 — 
1500: a more explicit account of the Beast men- 
tioned in chap. xi. 7. 

Chap. xiii. 1 — 10. The seven-headed and ten- 
horned Beast out of the Sea: the Dragon. The 
Papal Eoman Empire. 

11 — 14. The two-horned beast : the Papal clergy. 
15^ — 17. The Image of the Beast: the Papal Gene- 
ral Councils. 

18. The number of the Beast. 666. 



48 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Part TIL The Eeward and blessedness of the 
righteous: Chap. xi. 18. 

Chap. xiv. 1 — 5. The joy, blessedness, and cha- 
racter of the righteous : see Chap. vii. 

6, 7. The preaching of the Gospel before, at, and 
after the Reformation. {Note E.) 

8. Announcement of the fall of Babylon. (By 
anticipation.) 

9 — 11. Warning. 

12, 13. Encouragement to the faithful. 
14_16. The Harvest. 
17—20. The Vintage. 

Part IV. Introduction to the pouring out of the 
Vials. End of the Intermediate Scene. 

Chap. XV. 1,2. The seven angels: the sea of glass. 

3, 4. VI. Anthem: A Hymn of Triumph, de- 
claring that God only is Holy, and ought alone to 
be \Yorshipped. 

Scene VI. First Part. 

The third Woe: chap. xi. 14, 15. A.D. 1789. 

5. The Temple opened: see chap. xi. 19. 

6 — 8. The seven angels come out of the temple. 

Chap. xvi. 1, 2. First Vial, Upon the earth. 
The French E evolution. 1789. 

3. Second. Upon the sea. Sea-fights. 1793, 
&c. 

4 — 7. Third. Upon the rivers. Various wars. 
1794, <S:c. 



INTRODUCTION. 



49 



8, 9. Fourth. Upon the sun. German Empire. 
1806. 

10 — 11. Fifth. Upon the seat of the Beast. The 
See of Eome. 1810. 

12 — 16. Sixth. Upon the river Euphrates. 
Downfall of the Ottoman Empire. 1820. Note F. 

17 — 21. III. Syllabus. Seventh Vial. Into the 
Air: that is, upon Satan's kingdom: Eph. ii. 2. It 
describes the utter subversion of the mystic Babylon; 
the dissolution of Satan's kingdom; and the final 
consummation. This Syllabus is fully developed in 
chap, xvii., xviii., xix. 1 — 10. {Note G and H.) 

Scene VI. Second Part. 

Chap. xvii. View of the Woman and of the 
Beast; that is, of Papal Rome: Chap. xiii. 1 — 10. 

Ver. 1 — 6. Description of the Woman, the 
Mother of Harlots. 

7 — 11. A minute account af the Beast. 

12 — 18. The ten horns or kingdoms, which fa- 
vour, and which afterwards hate and desolate, the 
mystic whore. 

Sce/ie VI. Third Part. 

Chap, xviii. 1 — 24. The destruction of the mystic 
Babylon; the song of worldly lamentation at her 
fall, in the stram of the ancient Hebrew poets. 
What is matter of sorrow to the world, is matter of 
joy and exultation to the Church. 

D 



50 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Scene VI. Fourth Part. 

Chap. xix. 1 — 7. YII. Antliem: Praise in Hea- 
ven : the last grand chorus of the Heavenly Host. 
8, 9, The mystic Bride. 
10, St. John's mistake, as to worship. 

Scene VII. In Four Parts. 

The main series of events, as they were presented 
to the eye of the prophet, now continues from chap, 
xvi. 21. 

Part I. The earth is prepared for the Millennial 
state by a great contest between Christian and Anti- 
christian powers. A contest of hke nature is men- 
tioned in chap. xvi. 14, 16, under the Sixth Vial: 
but this contest, taking place under the Seventh 
Vial, must be a subsequent event. 

Chap. xix. 11 — 16. Christ and His armies de- 
scribed. (Note I) 

17, 18. Invitation to the fowls of heaven. 

19 — 21. Tlie enemies discomfited and utterly 
destroyed. 

Part 11. The Millennium. 

Chap. XX. 1 — 3. Satan bound 1000 years. 
4 — 6. The first resurrection. 
7 — 9. Satan loosed. 

10. Satan cast into the lake of fire. 

Part III. The Final Judsfment. 

11. The great white throne and the Judge. 



INTRODUCTION. 



51 



12, 13. The assembly, and the process of judg- 
ment. 

14, 15. The final award. 

Part IV. A new State : the heavenly felicity. 

Chap. XXI. 1. A new state. (Note J.) 

2. The holy city; new Jerusalem. 

3, 4. God's presence with His people: their bless- 
edness. (Note K.) 

5 — 8. Instructions for us, both encouraging and 
alarming. 

9 — 21. The Holy City described; or Heaven 
under the image of a city. 

22 — 27. Its glory and its inhabitants. 

Chap. xxii. 1, 2. Heaven described by images 
taken from paradise. 

3 — 5. The happiness and glory of its inhabitants. 

Conclusion, 
6, 7. A solemn Assurance. 

8, 9. St. John's repeated account of his offence: 
chap. xix. 10. 

10, 11. The book not to be sealed. 

12 — 15. Of Christ; His people; the ungodly. 

16. Christ the giver of these prophecies. 

17. Invitation of the Spirit and of the Bride. 

18. 19. An awful threat. 

20. Christ's assurance and the Church's prayer. 

21. The Apostolical benediction. 



D 2 



52 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



yOTES. 

Chap. III. Note i. Gibbon, toI. xi. 424. 
Two Turkish, chieftaiiis, Saruhkaii and Aidin, left their names 
and their conquests to their posterity. The Captivity or rain of 
the Seven Churches of Asia was consummated, (A.D. 1312, Sec.) 
and the barbarous lords of Ionia and Lydia stiU trample on the 
monuments of classic and Christian antiquity. In the loss of 
Ephesus, the Christians deplored the fall of the first angel, the 
extinction of the first candlestick, of the Revelations : the desola- 
tion is complete : and the temple of Diana, or the church of Mary, 
will equally elude the search of the curious traveller. — The circus 
and three sta res of Laodicea are now peopled with wolves 

and foxes. — > . - educed to a miserable village. — The God of 

Mahomet, without a rival or a son, is invoked in the mosques of 
Thyatira and Pergamus : and the populousness of Smyrna is sup- 
ported by the» foreign trade of the franks and Armenians. — Phila- 
delphia alone has been saved by prophecy, or courage. At a 
distance from the sea, forgotten by the emperors, encompassed on 
all sides by the Turks, her valiant citizens defended their religion 
and freedom above fourscore years ; and at length capitulated with 
the proudest of the Ottomans. Among the Greek colonies and 
churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect : a column in a scene 
of rmns : a pleasing example, that the paths of honour and safety 
may sometimes be the same."" 

Chap. IX. 1—11. Xote 5. —The Locust Woe. 

The Homan Empire was divided into Eastern and Western, 
A.D. 364, 27 years after the death of Constantine : chap, viii 
relates to the Western Empire ; chap, ix., to the Eastern. 

Ver. 5. Five months : that is, BOX •3=1 -50 years. Mohammed 
began to preach A.D. 612 : add to this loO, and we have A.D. 
762, the year when Bagdad was founded by the Caliph Almansor • 
— There are three periods to be noticed in the history of the 
Saracens. 

1. The period of Intensity ; loO years ; to A.D. 762. One 
hundred years after the flight of Mohammed from Mecca, A.D 
622, the arms and the reign of his successors extended from India 
to the Atlantic Ocean. 



INTEODUCTIOX. 



53 



2. The period of temporary Splendour. Haroun Al Raschid, 
&c; A.D. 781—80.5. ''In Bagdad," says Gibbon, "amidst the 
riches of the east, the Abassides soon disdained the abstinence and 
frugality of the first Caliphs, and aspired to emulate the mag- 
nificence of the Persian kings. The luxury of the Caliphs, so 
iiseless to their private happiness, relaxed the nerves, and 
terminated the progress of the Arabian Empire." 

3. The period of Decline. In A.D. 934 the Persian Moslem 
dynasty of the Bo-^ides advanced to Bagdad ; stripped the Caliph 
of his secular ofiice and supremacy, and reduced him to his 
spiritual functions as the Chief Pontiff of Islamism ; the mere 
phantom thenceforward of departed power. — In A.D. 937 the 
Empire was broken and divided into several principalities or king- 
doms. 

After the building of Bagdad the Saracens became settled; they 
made no more rapid conquests ; but this Woe-trumpet extended 
over a period far beyond A.D. 762 : for the Saracens possessed 
their dominions until they were dispossessed of them by the Turks. 

Ver. 7. Crowns like gold. — If, by coronets or turbans, we are 
to understand the ensigns of regal power, we may suppose them 
to refer to the numerous nations subdued by the Saracens in an 
incredibly short space of time. In the space of SO or 90 years, 
they had over run and subjected Palestine, Syria, Armenia, nearly 
all the Lesser Asia, Persia, India, Egypt, Xumidia, all Barbary as 
far as the river ^'iger, Portugal and Spain. They afterwards 
added a great part of Italy, Sicily, Candia, Cyprus, and other 
Islands of the Mediterranean sea. So that they might well be 
said to be crowned locusts, from the multitude of kingdoms they 
subdued. Wemyss' Key, ^'c. p. 296. 

Chap. IX. 13—19. yote C. Puse of the Ottoman Empire. 
In order to form any thing like a correct notion of the Turks, a 
few particulars of their history must be mentioned. 

Seljukian Turks. 

The Mohammedan Sultan, Mahmoud of Ghizni, in the province 
of Cabul, died A.D. 1028. At his death some of the Turkman 
tribes of Khorasan, who had been his subjects, asserted their in- 
dependence, and chose Togrul Beg, of the house of Seljuk, as 



54 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



their chief. Originally idolaters, they had embraced Mohammed- 
anism. In A.D. 1055 they were called to the help of the Caliph 
of Bagdad, and soon became head of the secular power of Islam- 
ism. They extinguished the feeble dynasty of the Bowides ; and 
Togrul was appointed by the Caliph to be " his Lieutenant." 
Here was " a loosing of the Moslem power against Homan Chris- 
tendom : for Togrul Beg invaded the Greek empire about A.D. 
1057. 

In A.D. 1074 the principality of Asia Minor, or Houm, having 
Nice for its capital, was founded by a successor of Togrul. 
Mosques were built ; the Koran was established ; and Alexius 
trembled upon the throne of Constantinople. What shall arrest 
the Turks in the career of conquest ? In the first place, the Cru- 
sades began, and continued during two centuries, A.D. 1096 — 
1291 : and, in the second place, the Moguls, under one of the 
generals of Zingis, between A.D. 1242 and 1272, broke the king- 
dom of Iconitim ; — not so as to extinguish the Turkish power in 
Asia Minor, but only the Seljukian dynasty. — In this manner the 
Seljukian Turks (ver. 14,) were bound," or restrained. 

Ottoman Turks. 

In A.D. 1240, a fresh band of Turkmans, from Charisme and 
the Oxus, under Orthogrul and his son Othman, engaged in the 
service of Aladin, then Sultan of Iconium ; to which place the 
Sultans had removed their throne when Nice was taken by the 
Crusaders in A.D. 1097. 

The death of Cazan, (The Mogul Khan of Persia,) in A.D. 1304, 
gave free scope to the rise and progress of the Ottoman empire : 
and it might be said, that in the 14th century the ancient king- 
doms of the Seljukians had again revived under the Ottoman 
princes. Here, then, soon after A.D. 1304, we have the " loosing" 
(ver. 14,) of " the four angels bound in the great river Euphrates." 

These four angels have been supposed to denote four Sultanies, 
the Persian, Kerman, Syrian, and Roum : but the expression 
may be purely symbolical, as in chap. vii. 1 ; denoting, therefore, 
the whole power which had been restrained. Whether *' angels" 
describe spiritual or earthly agents, they denote the instruments 
which God was pleased to use in fulfilling His purposes. 



INTEODUCTIOSr. 



55 



The Ottoman Sultans proceeded in a career of conquest : and 
Constantinople was taken by Mahomet II. in A.D. 1453. — The 
battle of Zenta, in Hungary, was fought, under Mustapha II. in 
A.D. 1697 : from this period the decline of the Turkish power is 
dated. 

We conclude, 1. That the angels, or Seljukian Turks, existed 
at the Euphrates, and began to act about A.D. 1050, but were 
''bound*' or restrained by the Crusaders and the Moguls : and, 
2. That the angels, as Ottoman Turks, were "loosed," or left 
free to act, soon after A.D. 1304. 

Ver. 15. They were prepared for a certain period : and as we 
make the year to consist of 3651, or of 360, days, the period will 
be 396 or 391 years : and these are thus applied to the prophecy. 

1. The Seljukian dynasty at Bagdad began A.D. 1055 : Togrul's 
campaign began A.D. 1057. Add to this 396 years, and we have 
A.D. 1453, the year in which Constantinople fell. 

2. The Ottoman, Ortogrul, took Kutaiah, the capital of Anato- 
lia, from the Greeks, (the first conquest over them,) A.D. 1281. 
Add to this number 391 ; and we have the year 1672, in which 
Mohammed IV. took Kaminieh, in Podolia, from the Poles ; — the 
last victory by which the Turks added any thing to their empire. 
Such an agreement between the assigned periods of prophecy and 
the various facts of history, must, to say the least, be accounted 
very striking. 

Chap. XI. 2, &c. Note D. Compare chap, xi, and xiv. 

xi. 1. The Beast. Ver. 7. xiii. 1—7. Dan. vii. 8, 24. 

2. The Witnesses. 3—12. xiv. 4, 5. 

3. The great City. 8. xiv. 8. 

4. Reward of the Saints. 18. xiv. 1 — 4, 13. Dan. xii. 3. 

5. The 1260 days. 2, 3. xii. 6, 14. Dan. vii. 25. 

Ver. 14. The second woe, &c. In chap. viii. 13, we have an- 
nouncement of three Woes : hence the three last Trumpets are 
rightly called the Woe-Trumpets. These, we must presume, mark 
out three successive periods. The first woe-trumpet is the Locust 
or Saracen woe : chap. ix. 1 — 11 : for it is expressly said in ver. 12, 
" One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more here- 
after." — The second woe-trumpet is the Euphratean or Turkish 
woe : ver. 13 — 19. And in chap. xi. 14, it is said — " The second 



56 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



woe is past ; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly : and this 
woe is the seventh Trumpet, or which is the same thing, the seven 
Vials. The cessation of the second woe cannot be fixed later than 
A.D. 1774. — The third woe-trumpet is supposed to begin A.D. 
1782.— We only remark, that the predictions in chap. xi. 11—13, 
took place under, and before the termination of, the second woe : 
therefore the death and resurrection of the Witnesses took place 
before the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, and thus they can- 
not relate to any yet future event. — There is no inconsistency be- 
tween xi. 3, and 12 : for what is the state of the Church in popish 
countries ? What have protestants suffered at the hands of 
papists ? What treatment does the Church experience from the 
world ? She has a " heaven," her exaltation ; but yet her lot is 
trial, her spirit sorrow, and her robe sackcloth. 

Chap. XIV. 8. Note E. 

" By Babyrlon was meant Rome, as all authors of all ages and 
countries agree .... Hers was a kind of Circean with poisoned 
liquor to intoxicate and inflame mankind to spiritual fornication." 
Bp. Newton. 

In ver. 6 — 11, The principal efforts made towards a reformation 
at three different times ; or the progress of the Reformation in 
different stages, as Waldensian, Bohemian, and Lutheran ; seem 
to be foretold in these verses. — It may not be possible to fix on 
particulars with any certainty ; but these verses clearly announce 
the universal diffusion of divine truth, notwithstanding the oppo- 
sition of papal Rome. 

Ver, 11. "When I seriously reflect on this text," says Dod- 
dridge, "and how directly the force of it lies against those who, 
contrary to the light of their consciences, continue in the commu- 
nion of the church of Rome, for secular advantage, or to avoid the 
terror of persecution, it almost makes me tremble. And I heartily 
wish, that all others, who connive at those things in the discipline 
and worship of protestant churches, which they in their conscience 
think to be sinful remains of popish superstition and corruption, 
would seriously attend to this passage, which is one of the most 
dreadful in the whole book of God, and weigh its awful contents, 
that they may keep at the greatest possible distance from this 



INTEODUCTION. 



57 



horrible curse which is sufficient to ' make the ears of every one 
that hears it to tingle.' Jer. xxv. 15, 16." 

Ver. 14 — 20. The same imagery, a Harvest and a Vintage, is 
seen in Joel, chap. iii. 13, 14 ; and there can be no doubt that it 
describes the infliction of awful judgments on the earth," or 
men in general, and on the "vine of the earth," or the corrupt 
Church. But whether these judgments were inflicted by the 
dreadful wars of the 16th and I7th centuries ; or whether they 
are to be viewed as still future events ; it may, perhaps, be impos- 
sible to determine. It is easy to say much on either side of the 
question ; but it is not so easy to say any thing which is com- 
pletely satisfactory. If we are right in applying ver. 6, &c. to the 
Reformation, and in applying the Yials to the French Revolution, 
it will follow, we apprehend, that the long interval between A.D. 
1517 and A.D. 1789, is passed over in silence on the page of pro- 
phecy, if it be concluded, that the Harvest and Vintage represent 
still future events. It may, however, be said, that these two pro- 
phetic scenes are far too deep and emphatic to have had their ful- 
filment in any past occurrences ; — especially that represented by 
the Vintage. Here, as in many other instances, we must allow 
time to be the interpreter of prophecy. — The excellent commen- 
tator, the Rev. Thomas Scott, considers that at chap. xiv. 14, &c., 
we are come to the unfulfilled portion of the Apocalypse. 

Chap. XVI. 13. Note F. 

" Little doubt, as it appears to me, can be entertained, but that 
the three unclean spirits like frogs, which St. John saw ' come 
out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, 
and out of the mouth of the false prophet,' were intended to sym- 
bolize Infidelity, Democracy, and Popery, under whatever form 
they may be manifested, and into whatever new combinations 
they may have entered." Archdeacon Browne's Charge, 1849, 
p. 16. 

Chap. XVI. 17, &c. Note G. 

At the opening of the Seventh Seal, and at the sounding of the 
Seventh Trumpet, and here at the pouring out of the Seventh 
Vial, we have some verses which v/e have in each case called a 
Syllabus, or summary view of subsequent events ; thus, 

d5 



58 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Chap. Tiii. 1 — 6 is unfolded in chap. viii. 7.— -xi. 1 — 15. 
Chap. xi. 15 — 19 is unfolded in chap. xii. — xvi. 1 — 16. 
Chap. xvi. 17 — 21 is unfolded in chap, xvii., &c. 

Chap. XVI. 21. Note H. 
My own mind is strongly impressed with the conviction, (a 
conTiction, in which it rnay not, perhaps, be too much to say that 
almost every attentive student of prophecy in the present day par- 
ticipates,) that we are now actually living in that portion of the 
world's existence which is comprehended under the Seventh 
Trumpet, the blast of which commenced with the French lievolu- 
tion, and under that particular division of it which includes the 
effusion of the sixth, if not of the seventh Vial." Archdeacon 
Browne's Charge, 1849, p. 16. 

Chap. XIX. 11—16. Note I. 

" These verses seem to predict the progress of the Gospel sub- 
sequent to the fall of Home, in the destruction of the remains of 
the Anti-christian empire, the purifying of the visible Church, the 
conversion of the Jews, the termination of Mohammedanism, and 
the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles : and they more 
fully declare most important transactions, before briefly intimated, 
and also foretold by the ancient prophets." Scott in loco. 

Chap. XX. 1, 2. Note J. 

" The confining of Satan in the abyss for a thousand years, 
seems to be a figurative description of the restraint imposed upon all 
powers, that might either seduce men into error and wickedness, or 
persecute men of conscience, constancy, and faithfulness. During 
such a period, religion may be expected to flourish in purity and 
in peace. And this, perhaps, is the whole amount of what so 
many have dreamed, in relation to what is termed the Millen- 
nium." Wemyss' Key, &c. 

Chap. XX. 2, &c. Note K. 

" If by the expression ' Personal Reign' be meant a strict, all- 
pervading, unintermitting Theocracy, administered by Him who 
was ' declared to be the Son of God with power,' then I fully be- 
lieve, that such a supreme government of the world is in accord- 
ance with the symbolical language of prophecy upon that subject. 



INTRODL'CTIOX. 



59 



But if by it be intended the descent of our Lord Jesus Christ in 
His glorified human nature, from Kis exaltation at the right hand 
of God, to take up His abode once more amongst men, and to sit 
for a thousand years upon the throne of David, — if such be the 
theory, it seems derogatory to the transcendent dignity of His 
Person, and at variance ^Yith the general tenour of revelation. — 
Ps. ex. compared with 1 Cor. xv, 24 — 28, will throw light on 
tlie personal reign. If the extinction of death will not take place 
till subsequently to the Millenium, and if the session of the Re- 
deemer upon His mediatorial throne is to continue till this last 
enemy shall be destroyed, — the conclusion seems to be inevitable 
and irresistible, that there will be no personal reign upon earth, 
in the ordinary acceptation of those terms." Archdeacon Browne'' s 
Charge, 1849, p. 172. 



60 



THE APOCALYPSE, 

OR 

THE REYELATIO^" 

OF 

ST. JOHX THE DIVIXE. 



PAET I. 

IXTEODUCTIOX: '* THE TIIIXOS WHICH ARE.'' 
CHAP, i:, II., III. 

Chaptee I. 

T'>7\ 1. — 3. Prefcice to the hooi: : promise to the riaht 
improver of it. 4 — 7. Salutation : a solemn assu- 
rance. 8. Chinst's declaration respecting Himself. 
9 — 11. St, Johns eccile^ vision, and commission. 
12 — 16. A full statement of the vision, 17 — 20. 
St. John's fear; he is encouraged^ directed^ and 
instructed. 

^ The Eevelation of Jesus Christ, which God g^ave 
unto him, to shew unto his servants things which 
must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified 
it by his angel unto his servant John: - Who bare 
record of the word of God, and of the testimonv of 
Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. ^ Blessed 
25 he that readeth, and they that hear the words of 



CHAP. I. 



61 



this prophecy, and keep those things which are writ- 
ten therein: for the time is at hand. 

^ John to the seven churches which are in Asia : 
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, 
and which was, and which is to come; and from 
the seven Spirits which are before his throne ; ^ And 
from Jesus Christ, ivho is the faithful witness, and 
the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the 
kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and 
washed us from our sins in his own blood, ^ And hath 
made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ; 
to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. 
Amen. ^ Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every 
eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: 
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
him. Even so. Amen. 

^ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, 
and which is to come, the Almighty. 

^ I John, who also am your brother, and companion 
in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of 
Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for 
the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus 
Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and 
heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 

Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the 
last: and, what thou seest, write in a book, and send 
it unto the seven churches which are in Asia ; unto 
Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and 



62 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



unto Tliyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadel- 
phia, and unto Laodicea. 

And I turned to see the voice that spake with 
me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candle- 
sticks ; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks 
one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a 
garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps 
with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs icere 
white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes 
loere as a flame of fire ; And his feet like unto fine 
brass, as if they burned in a furnace ; and his voice 
as the sound of many waters. And he had in his 
right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth went 
a sharp two-edged sword : and his countenance icas 
as the sun shineth in his strength. 

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. 
And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto 
me. Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he 
that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive 
for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of hell 
and of death. Write the things which thou hast 
seen, and the things which are, and the things 
which shall be hereafter ; The mystery of the seven 
stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the 
seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the 
angels of the seven churches : and the seven candle- 
sticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. 



CHAP. I. 

NOTES. 



63 



Ver. 1. Of Jesus Christ: that is, the discovery 
made by Him: chap. xxii. 6. 
2. He saiv. Chap. xxii. 8. 

4. Seven churches : those more especially under 
St. John's care. — Seven spirits: the Holy Spirit, 
with respect to the abundance, &c., of His gifts and 
operations . 

5. Faithful, ^'c. St. John viii. 14. xviii. 37. Col. 

i. 18. Eph. i. 22. 

J. 

6. Kings, ^x. These terms describe the dignity 
and sacredness of God's people. 

8. Alpha, ^'G. Christ claims the attributes of the 
Godhead. 

10. In the Spirit. Under the immediate impulse 
of the Spirit of prophecy. 

12. See the voice: the person who spake. — Candle- 
sticks; ver. 20. Golden: precious: Zech. iv. 2. 

13. Son of man: Christ; Dan. viii. 13. — Clothed: 
High Priest: Exod. xxviii. 4. Heb. vi. 20. 

14. 15. Wool, fire, brass : denoting His glory, 
omniscience, perpetuity. — Voice: Ezek. xliii. 2. 

16. Right hand: special care and protection. — 
Stars; chief ministers. — Sivord: Heb. iv. 12. Eph. 
vi. 17. 

18. Keys: power and authority over life, and 
death, and hell; or the unseen world, the place of 
of departed spirits. 

19. 1. " The things which are :" chap, i — iii. — 2. 



64 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



"The tilings which shall be hereafter:" chap, iv 
— xxii: Such is the division of the book. 

20. Mystery : the spiritual meaning. — Are : re- 
present. 

REFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 3. Our blessed Lord, the Prophet of His 
Church, has given us " a more sure word of pro- 
phecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as 
unto a hght that shineth in a dark place." We 
ought to be thankful for this gift : but if we would 
be truly " blessed," novv- and for ever, we must read, 
hear, understand, and observe, the divine instruction 
which is here set before us. " The time is at hand" 
when our probation will end, and our everlasting 
condition will be fixed. ^Tiat a motive to serious 
thought and diligence ! 

Ver. 4 — 7. In grace and peace, — flowing to us 
from God the Father, through Jesus Christ, and by 
the agency of the Holy Spirit, — we have the sum 
of all spiritual blessings.— Here we behold our blessed 
Redeemer: our Teacher, our risen Head, and the 
Lord of all. We also see what He has done for us, 
and what He makes His faithful people. We see, 
further, that He will be our Judge. May we so 
believe in Him, love Him and follow Him, that we 
may not wail, but rejoice, at His second coming. 

Ver. 8. None but lofty views of our blessed Lord 
are just views. " In Him dwelleth the fulness of 
the Godhead bodily," View Him with veneration ; 



CHAP. I. 



65 



trust in Him with confidence ; obey Him with readi- 
ness; and glory in Him with joyful hearts. 

Ver. 9 — 11. St. John was an exile, ''persecuted 
for rightousness sake." If tribulation be our lot, let 
patience be our virtue. Tliis banished believer re- 
membered, we presume, the Lord's day; and we 
see how highly he was favoured. If we improve 
the sabbath, the voice of truth, mercy, grace, and 
love will address to us olad tidino's, and unfold to 
us the most sublime truths and delightful prospects. 
See here Christ's care for the churches, and how He 
sends a message to each of them : and we may truly 
add, to each of us. 

Yer. 12 — 16. AYith what minoled feelino^s of 
awe and delight ought we to dwell on these verses ! 
Here we behold " the Apostle and High Priest of our 
profession, Christ Jesus," in His glory and majesty., 
authority, and power. Here we see His Church, 
the light and beauty of our world. Here also we 
see His ministers ; " stars in His right hand ;" shining 
by His splendour, and strengthened and guarded by 
His might. Think we on these things, and rejoice 
in the consolation which they are so well fitted to 
impart: and let us so take heed to the Redeemer's 
word, as that it may be to us the word of life and 
salvation, and not of condemnation and ruin. 

Yer. 17 — 20. How is the weakness of man re- 
lieved by the condescension of our blessed Lord ! 
AVe may tremble at the thought of future disclosures 
and events: but He who "knows our frame" will 



66 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



be our Strengthener and Comforter. It is enougli 
for us to know, that He lives for evermore, and 
that all power is in His hands; that the things 
which are," and which " shall be," are under His 
control; and that His Church, the whole of it, and 
each member of it, is the object of His special re- 
gard. Only beheve in Him ; only follow Him ; and 
love and hope will banish torment and dismay from 
the soul. 



Chapter 11. 

Epistle to the angel of the Church; Ver. 1 — 7. Of 
Ephesus ; — 8 — 4. In Smyrna ; — 12 — 17. In 
Pergamos ; — 18 — 29. In Thyatira, 

^ UxTO the angel of the church of Ephesus write ; 
These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in 
his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven 
golden candlesticks ; ' I know thy works, and thy 
labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not 
bear them which are evil : and thou hast tried them 
which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast 
found them Hars: ^ 'And hast borne, and hast pa- 
tience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and 
hast not fainted. * Nevertheless I have someichat 
against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 
^ Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, 
and repent, and do the first works; or else I will 



CHAP. II. 



67 



come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candle- 
stick out of his place, except thou repent. ^ But this 
thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolai- 
tanes, which I also hate. ^ He that hath an ear, let 
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches; 
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the 
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of 
God. 

^ And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna 
write; These things saith the first and the last, 
which was dead, and is alive; ^ I know thy v/orks, 
and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and 
/ know the blasphemy of them which say they are 
Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: 
behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, 
that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation, 
ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, 
let him hear what the Spirit unto the churches; 
He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second 
death. 

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos 
write; These things saith he which hath the sharp 
sword with two edges; I krfow thy works, and 
where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seatzs; and 
thou boldest fast my name, and hast not denied my 
faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my 
faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where 
Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against 



68 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doc- 
trine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stum- 
blingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things 
sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So 
hast thou also them that hold the doctrines of the 
Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else 
I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against 
them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath 
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
churches ; To him that overcometh will I give to eat 
of the hidden manna, and will give him a white 
stone, and in the stone a new name written, which 
no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira 
write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath 
his eyes hke unto a flame of fire, and his feet are 
like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, 
and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy 
works; and the last to be more than th^' first. Not- 
withstanding I have a few things against thee, be- 
cause thou suflferest that woman Jezebel, which 
calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my 
servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sac- 
rificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent 
of her fornication; afid she repented not. Behold, 
I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit 
adultery with her into great tribulation, except they 
repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children 
with death ; and all the churches shall know that I 
am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and 



CHAP. II. 



69 



I will give unto every one of you according to your 
works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in 
Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and 
which have not known the depths of Satan, as they 
speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 

But that which you have already hold fast till I 
come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my 
works unto the end, to him will I give power over 
the nations : And he shall rule them with a rod of 
iron ; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken 
to shivers : even as I received of my Father. And 
I will give him the morning star. He that hath 
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
churches. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. Angel: chief minister: messenger. Chap." 
i. 16. 

2. I know : See and approve. 

6. Nicolaitanes : a sect who taught the lawfulness 
of lewd and idolatrous practices. 

7. To eat, : to enjoy a blessed immortality. 
Gen. ii. 9. 

9. Blasphemy: evil speaking : calling holy things 
unholy, and the contrary. 

10. Ten days: a considerable time. 

12. Sword: chap. i. 16. 

13. Satan s seat: Pergamos was noted for idola- 
trous rites. Of Antipas we know nothing. 

14. Balaam: Numbers xxxi. 16. 2 Pet. ii. 15, 16. 



70 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



16. Fight: the sword is the word, which is salva- 
tion to the good, and ruin to the wicked. 

17. Hidden manna: Christ is the bread of life. 
Exod. xvi. 33. St. John vi. 32. Col. iii. 1. 

Wliite stone: token of acquittal, or of victory, or 
of admission to a feast. 

New name: such was given to persons raised to 
dignity : Dan. i. 7. 

20. Jezelel: some influential woman; or an allu- 
sion to 2 Kings ix. x. 

22. Bed: symbol of affliction. — Adultery: idola- 
trous practices; ver. 20, 21. 

24. Dep,ths: the Gnostics called their doctrines 
the depths of God:" here is their true character. 

25. Have: that is, hold, retain, the pure doctrines 
of the Gospel. 

I come: to execute threatened judgments. 

26. Poicer: he shall share the glory and triumph 
of Christ. 

28. Morning Star: light, pre-eminence, or Myself; 
chap. xxii. 16. 

REFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 7. Ephesus. — The Lord Jesus Christ is 
always with His Church ; — He walks among us, and 
His eye is upon us, although He is unseen. Are 
we patient, diligent, separate from the ungodly, 
careful not to hear false teachers, striving to pro- 
mote the glory of Christ, unwearied and courageous? 
Li this case we are known and approved. — But are 



CHAP. II. 



71 



we become cold and remiss? Have we lost our 
first zeal and decision? Then let us repent, and, 
through grace, recover our former excellence; lest 
we be punished by the loss of outward privileges, or 
of inward grace. The great question is not, what 
we once were, or once did; but it is, what we now 
are, and what we are now doing. — A blessed immor- 
tality is before us: but only the conqueror will 
obtain it. 

Ver. 8 — 11. Smyrna. — Here we may learn how 
to think of our glorious and gracious Saviour; God, 
blessed for ever ; once crucified for us ; but the ever- 
living Lord. — This world may be to us a world of 
trial, and tribulation, and poverty. But here is our 
comfort: if we be faithful and firm, patient and true, 
we may set the approval of God against the re- 
proaches of men; enduring treasures in heaven- 
against perishable riches upon earth ; and the bliss 
and glory of eternity against the pleasures of sin and 
the splendours that are but for a season. — And thus 
we may here be fully persuaded, that, whatever our 
afflictions and trials are, we have in Christ and His 
word abundant consolation. But let us look well to 
our principles and to our walk or conduct ; knowing 
that none but the truly faithful shall receive the 
crown of life. We must hear, receive, obey, and 
conquer ; and thus we shall escape the second death. 
Chap. xxi. 7, 8. 

Ver. 12 — 17. Pergamos. — Our blessed Lord has 
in His hand " the sharp sword with two edges;" the 



72 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



sword of truth and of justice. Let us attend to His 
trutli, that His justice may not be put forth in our 
destruction. — ^Some circumstances in this world may 
be pecuHarly perilous: we may dwell where Satan 
rules with great power. Happy are they who. 
through grace, stand firm in eyil times and in e^il 
places. — Has any one sweryed from the way of faith 
and holiness? Is any one holding error, and prac- 
ticing iniquity? Let the wicked forsake his way. 
and the unriditeous man his thouo:hts.'' Perse- 
verance in sin will be ineyitable ruin. — From the 
anticipation of the future let us derive animation for 
the present. The "hidden manna,'' the ''white 
stone,'' the ''new name;" — shall not the delightful 
thought of these urge us to all diligence in seeking 
diyine grace that we may oyerconne? 

Ver. 18 — 29. Thyatira. — In our blessed Lord we 
see omniscience, stability, and irresistible power. — 
We may here learn what true Christian excellence 
is; right principles and right practice, and progress 
in both : this is what our Blessed Saviour approves . 
— But what an awful idea is here given us of the 
ungodly ! Idolatry and impenitence, desolation and 
ruin. — He who is omniscient knows our hearts : and 
He who iudo'es the world in rio^hteousness" will 

give to every man according to his works." — To 
reject false doctrines, to hold fast the truth, to over- 
come every enemy of our souls, and to persevere to 
the end; — here is our duty, wisdom, and happiness. 
Attending to these things, we shall see the destruc- 



CHAP. III. 



73 



tion of the wicked ; but we ourselves shall shine and 
rejoice in the presence of Him who is the ]\Iorning 
Star; who is to us at present the sure pledge of 
heaven's unclouded and eternal day. 



Chapter III. 

Ejmtle to the caigel of the Church in Sarclis : Ver. 
1 — 6. In Philadelphia: 7 — 13. Of the Laodi- 
ceaiis: 14 — 22. 

^ And unto the angel of the church in Sardis 
write; These things saith he that hath the seven 
Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy 
works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and 
art dead. ^ Be watchful, and strengthen the things 
which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not ■ 
found thy works perfect before God. ^ Eem ember 
therefore how thou hast received and heard, and 
hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not 
watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt 
not know what hour I wiU come upon thee. ^ Thou 
hast a few names even in Sardis which have not 
defiled their garments ; and they shall walk mth me 
in white: for they are worthy. ^ He that over- 
cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; 
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of 
life, but I will confess his name before my Father, 
and before his angels. ^ He that hath an ear, let 
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

E 



74 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



' And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia 
write ; These things saith He that is holy, He that is 
true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, 
and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man 
openeth; ^ I know thy works: behold, I have set 
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it : 
for thou hast a Httle strength, and hast kept my 
word, and hast not denied my name. ^ Behold, I 
will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which 
say they are Jews, and are not, but do He; behold, 
I will make them to come and worship before thy 
feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because 
thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will 
keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall 
come upon all the world, to try them that dwell 
upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold 
that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy 
crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar 
in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more 
out: and I will write upon him the name of my 
God, and the name of the city of my God, n'liich is 
new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven 
from my God : and I icill icrite upon him my new 
name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what 
the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

And unto the angel of the chui'ch of the Laodi- 
ceans write ; These things saith the x4men, the faith- 
fiil and true witness, the beginning of the creation 
of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither 
cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So 



CHAP. III. 



75 



then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold 
nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Be- 
cause thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with 
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not 
that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of 
me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; 
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and 
that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear ; and 
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest 
see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten : 
be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand 
at the door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, 
and open the door, I will come in to him, and will 
sup with him, and he with me. To him that 
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my. 
Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let 
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

NOTES. 

Ver. \. Seven Spirits: chap. i. 4. — A name', a 
reputation of being Christians. 

2. Things: convictions, good desires, &c. — Per- 
fect: continued, filled up, completed. 

4. Names: persons. — Garments: walk or conver- 
sation. — White : holiness, glory : white is the colour 
appropriated in this book to Christ and to His people. 

5. Booh allusion to registers kept of priests, free- 
men, &c. 

E 2 



76 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



7. Key: regal right or authority of David: Is. 
xxii. 22. 

8. Open door: full opportunity of proclaiming my 
word. 

9. Worship: enemies shall sue to thee for support 
and protection. 

10. Word, ^c: doctrine exposing to persecution, 
and requiring patience.— ^ro2/^; time of persecution ; 
perhaps Trajan's, A.D. 107. 

11. Hast: believest, possessest. 

12. Pillar: perhaps an allusion to 1 Kings vii. 21. 
The Church is a temple; Christ its foundation; 
Ministers its pillars ;■ — and such too are all real Chris- 
tians, resting upon an everlasting basis. 

14. Beginning: Prince or Euler; Head and 
Governor of all creatures: Is. Iv. 4. Col. i. 15 — 20. 

16. Lukewarm: indifferent, irresolute, undecided. 

17. Naked: without the image of God; without 
Christ and holiness. 

18. Buy: seek and receive: Is. Iv. 1.- — Gold: 
faith, pure religion, divine influence. 

20. Stand: patience, waiting. — Knocks: impor- 
tunity; mercies, judgments, &c. Come in: Com- 
munion: Is. Ivii. 15. St. John xiv. 23. — Sup: inti- 
mate fellowship ; feed with the bread of life. 

REFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 6. Sardis. — We are here reminded, that 
the Holy Spirit is the gift of our blessed Lord, (St. 
John XV. 26; Eph. iv, 7, 8.) to whom we must look 



CHAP. III. 



77 



and apply for His manifold operations; — and, further, 
that Ministers are especially in His hands, and at 
His disposal. — We are faithfully ^Yarned, that we 
may be loud in profession and specious in appearance, 
but at the same time be spiritually dead in God's 
sight. Shall we not here examine ourselves? But 
where lies our safety? In consideration, watchful- 
ness, and prayer; in seeking and striving that what- 
ever of good be in us may be strengthened, increased, 
and made to prevail. Our works may be perfect 
before men, when they are not so before God. Here, 
then, is ground for self-examination, so that we may 
not deceive ourselves to our ruin. — It is delightful 
to look upon the faithful, who, as such, keep them- 
selves " unspotted from the world." They walk 
here with Christ in holiness, and they shall walk 
with Him above in glory. May we so believe in 
and follow Christ, as that our names may be in the 
book of life: and may we so confess Him before 
men, as that He may confess our names before His 
Father, and before His angels ! 

Ver. 7 — 13. Philadelphia.^ — What a fine idea is 
here given us of our blessed Lord ! In His nature 
He is holy ; in His word He is true ; and in His 
exalted office He is possessor of universal authority 
and dominion. — How various are the characters of 
real Christians ! Some of them are comparatively 
weak; doubting, perhaps trembling and dispirited. 
But let not such persons complain. True to the 
grace given them, faithful to the knowledge which 



78 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



tliey possess, firmly cleaving to Christ and keeping 
His word, and patient in the trials wliich they have 
to sustain, they may be assured, that they shall be 
preserved, even in evil times, and that even their 
enemies will be compelled to honour them. Thus 
we would " lift up the hands which hang down, and 
the feeble knees." ''Hold fast what you have:" 
and although you may now regard yourselves as 
feeble reeds, yet remember that you shall be pillars 
in the temple above, upon which will be inscribed 
those high and sacred names which shall exist for 
ever. 

Ver. 14 — 22. Laodicea. — Our blessed Lord is our 
Prophet; ''the Amen; the faithful and true Wit- 
ness;" Himself " the Truth." He is also the Origin, 
Author, and Euler of the whole universe. Shall 
we not not receive His words? Shall we not submit 
to His authority ? — What a painful character is here 
set before us! Lukewarm, (dull and indifferent, 
instead of being alive, earnest, and zealous;) and 
yet proud, ignorant, and self-sufficient. — And here 
we see the faithfulness, the lovingkindness, the pa- 
tience, and (shall we not say?) the earnestness, of 
our gracious Saviour. He warns, (ver. 16;) ad- 
monishes, (ver. 18, 19;) and shows His importunity, 
(ver. 20.) A place in the throne of Christ — this is 
promised to the conqueror: but if we would con- 
quer, we must not be lukewarm, but zealous; not 
proud, but humble; not self-sufficient, but glorying 
in Him who is "the Lord our righteousness;" not 



CHAP. lY. 



79 



indolent and self-indulgent, but looking unto Jesus 
the author and finisher of our faith; who for the 
joy that was set before Him endured the cross, des- 
pising the shame, and is set down at the right hand 
of the throne of God." 



PAET II. 

CHAP. lY — XXII. " THE THINGS WHICH SHALL 
BE HEKEAFTER:" CHAP. I. 19. 

Scene I. First Part. 

Chapter IV. 

1—3. Vision of the throne and of God. 4. Twenty- 
four Elders. 5. Other objects. 6 — 8. Four living 
Creatures. 8 — 10. Heaven Adoration. 11. First 
Anthem. 

^ After this I looked, and, behold, a door was 
opened in heaven : and the first voice which I heard 
was as it were of a trumpet talking with me ; which 
said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things 
which must be hereafter. ^ And immediately I was 
in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in hea- 
ven, and one sat on the throne. ^ And he that sat 
was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: 
and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in 
sight like unto an emerald. 



80 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



^ And round about tlie throne icere four and 
twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and 
tw^enty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and 
they had on their heads crowns of gold. ^ And out 
of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings 
and voices : and there were seven lamps of fire burn- 
ing before the throne, which are the seven Spirits 
of God. 

^ And before the throne there teas a sea of glass 
like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, 
and round about the throne, ivere four beasts full of 
eyes before and behind. ' And the first beast ivas 
like a Hon, and the second beast like a calf, and the 
third beast 'had a face as a man, and the fourth beast 
ivas like a flying eagle. ^ And the four beasts had 
each of them six wings about him ; and they were 
full of ej^es within : and they rest not day and night, 
saying. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, 
which was, and is, and is to come. 

^ And when those beasts give glory and honour 
and thanks to him that sat upon the throne, who 
liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty 
elders fall down before him that sat on throne, and 
worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast 
their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art 
worthy, Lord, to receive glory and honour and 
power : for thou hast created all things, and for thy 
pleasure they are and were created. 



CHAP. IV. 



81 



NOTES. 

Ver. 1. Door: Aperture in the sky. 

2. Spirit: rapture, ecstacy, trance. 

3. The gems intimate Glory; the rainbow divine 
faithfulness and mercy. 

4. Elders : these represent the heads of the Jewish 
and Christian Churches. 

5. Seven lamps, ^'c: Chap. i. 4. 

6. Sea: xv. 2: bright, transparent, glorious. 
Beasts: living creatures: they must represent 

some part of the Church; Chap. v. 8, 9. 

7. Lion, &c: these emblems may denote courage 
and vigour; patience and diligence; reason and in- 
telligence; activity and swiftness. 

8. Wiiigs: Is. vi. 2, 3. Ezek. 1. &—Eyes: de- 
noting knowledge and watchfulness. These living, 
creatures are Hieroglyphical representations of some 
heavenly beings. — The 8th and 11th verses are the 
First Anthem. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 3. How highly favoured was St. John, 
and how highly favoured are we, to have a glimpse 
of Heaven ! We pass from symbols to realities, and 
we meditate on the glory and supremacy, on the 
faithfulness and mercy, of God. — In the fourth verse 
we see the whole Church, Jewish, and Christian, 
"sitting," which denotes repose and security; clothed 
in ''white," which denotes unspotted holiness; and 

E 5 



82 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



having crowns of gold, wliicli denotes elevation 
and dignity. — In the fifth verse we are reminded of 
the terrors of the Lord. He is a o-reat Kino;; and 
while His administration is gracious, it is also righte- 
ous. — In verses 6 — 8 we have two new images; a 
sea of glass; not one ''casting up mbe and dirt," 
but one that is as clear as crystal, most transparent 
and beautiful, for such is all in the final state of 
bliss: and then we see four living creatures, "full 
of eyes,'" which may denote their knowledge and 
vigilance, whilst each of them may be viewed as 
emblems of those virtues in which we should strive 
to abound and excel; courage, diligence, wisdom, 
and activitv. — In ver. 8—11, we mav learn the 
nature of true worship. What veneration and hu- 
mility ! What ascription of praise to God I What 
a view of Him as the Holy One, the Almighty, the 
Creator, and the ever-hving God I 

And what do wo say to these things? We medi- 
tate upon them, and this world vanishes fi^om our 
view: Heaven is before us, and Heaven is all: it is 
there that we shall see what glorj- is; that we shall 
feel what happiness is; and that we shall know what 
worship means. God the Holy Ghost, be merci- 
ful to us; instruct us in the word of truth; and en- 
liven our sluggish souls; that we may so believe 
and live, as finally to join in the adoration and 
praise of the heavenly host. 



CHAP. V. 



83 



Scene /. Second Part, 
Chapter V. 

1 — 4, Vision of the sealed book : St. Johns sorrow. 
5 — 7. The Lamb takes it, to open it. 8 — 10. 
Second Anthem: Song of the redeemed Church. 
11 — 14. Adoration and joy in heaven and in 
earth. 

^ And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on 
the throne a book written within and on the back- 
side, sealed with seven seals. ^ And I saw a strong 
angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy 
to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 
^ And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under 
the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look 
thereon. ^ And I wept much, because no man was 
found worthy to open and to read the book, neither 
to look thereon. 

^ And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep 
not: behold the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Eoot 
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to 
loose the seven seals thereof. ^ And I beheld, and, 
lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, 
and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it 
had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, 
which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into 
all the earth. ^ And he came and took the book 
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the 
throne. 



84 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



^ And when he had taken the book, the four 
beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before 
the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and 
golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of 
saints. ^ And they sung a new song, saying. Thou 
art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals 
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made 
us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall 
reign on the earth. 

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many 
angels round about the throne and the beasts and 
the elders : and the number of them was ten thou- 
sand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 

Saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb 
that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wis- 
dom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and 
blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, 
and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as 
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I say- 
ing. Blessing and honour, and glory, and power, be 
unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts 
said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell 
down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and 
ever. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. A Booh. An emblem of God's purposes. 
Sealed: not to be discovered by man. 



CHAP. V. 



85 



5. Lion: allusion to Gen. xlix. 9. David: Is. 
xi. 1. 

Loose : to reveal the divine purposes. 

6. Slain: as newly slain: emblematical of His 
High Priesthood. 

Seven horns and seven eyes : Infinite power ; infi- 
nite knowledge. 

8. Vials: a sort of basin, distinct from the censer. 
Which are: which represent. Ps. cxli. 2. 

9. New song: most excellent; composed on mat- 
ters and blessings of the Gospel. 

10. Kings, S^x. chap. i. 6. Exod. xix. 6. 1 Pet. 
ii. 5—9. 

12. Receive; that is, to have ascribed to Him. — 
Observe the sevenfold praise, given here to Christ; 
in vii. 12 to God. 

13, 14. All beings unite in giving the same hon- 
our to God and to the Lamb. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 4. God has His counsels: Known unto 
Him are all His works from the beginning of the 
world:" but His own mind is the depository of 
them. They are here represented under the image 
of a sealed book; one not to be opened by any 
created being. Learn from St. John's grief how we 
ought to desire to know the divine will. 

5 — 7. Those who desire knowledge shall obtain 
it. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Revealer to us of 
His Father's mind and will. By virtue of His in- 



86 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



carnation and sacrifice, as lie is the King, and 
Priest, and Intercessor, so is He the Prophet of His 
Church : and in this book He has oriven us the o^reat 
outHnes of God's proceedings in the world, till the 
consummation of all things. How thankfully should 
we receive, and how carefully improve, the know- 
ledo'e oTanted to us ! 

8 — 10. All the discoveries which we have of the 
Divine will should excite us to adoration and praise. 
Eedemption is the great subject, which ought at all 
times to fill our souls with wonder and dehght, with 
joy and gratitude. What Christ has done for us, 
" redeemins: us to God bv His blood;'' and what 
we are made,' if we truly receive Him, " kings and 
priests unto God;" — surely these things demand our 
constant remembrance and our joyful thanksgivings. 

11 — 14. Can we hear of the sevenfold praise of 
the countless host of angels and of the Hvins: crea- 
tures and elders; can we hear all creatures in hea- 
ven, earth, and ocean, take up the exulting strain; 
and yet remain ourselves cold, unaffected, and silent? 
blessed Spirit of truth and grace, so teach us, 
enhven us, and renew us, that it may be our delight 
upon earth to magnify and praise Him through 
whose mercy, grace, and love alone we can hope to 
spend our eternal existence in glory and bliss. 



CHAP. VI. 



87 



Scene II. First Part. 

SIX SEALS. 

Chapter YI. 

1, 2. A White Horse. 3, 4. A Red Horse. 5, 6. 
A Blach Horse. 7, 8. ^ Pale Horse. 9—11. 
Martyrs. 12 — 16. Earthquake, ^'C. 

^ AxD I saw when the Lamb opened one of the 
seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, 
one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. - And 
I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat 
on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto 
him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 

^ And when he had opened the second seal, I 
heard the second beast say. Come and see. ^ And 
there went out another horse that was red: and 
power was given to him that sat thereon to take 
peace from the earth, and that they should kill one 
another: and there was given unto him a great 
sword. 

And when he had opened the third seal, I 
heard the third beast say. Come and see. And I 
beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on 
him had a pair of balances in his hand. ^ And I 
heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A 
measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures 
of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil 
and the wine. 



88 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



' And when he had opened the fourth seal, I 
heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and 
see. ^ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and 
his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell fol- 
lowed with him. And power was given unto them 
over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, 
and with hunger, and with death, and with the 
beasts of the earth. 

^ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw 
under the altar the souls of them that were slain for 
the w^ord of God, and for the testimony which they 
held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 
How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not 
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on 
the earth? And white robes were given unto 
every one of them; and it was said unto them, that 
they should rest yet for a little season, until their 
fellowservants also and their brethren, that should 
be killed as they loere^ should be fulfilled. 

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth 
seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the 
sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon 
became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell 
unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her un- 
timely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is 
rolled together; and every mountain and island 
were moved out of their places. And the kings 
of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, 
and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and 



CHAP. VI. 



89 



every bondman, and every free man, liid themselves 
in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, 
and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon 
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For 
the great day of his wrath is come ; and who shall 
be able to stand ! 

NOTES. 

Ver 2. White horse : prosperous Roman empire. 
See Zech. vi. 1 — 4. 

4. Red: war, strife, bloodshed. 

5. Black: oppression, famine, mourning. 

8. Pale: Sword and pestilence. 

9. Altar: of burnt oriering. Souls; of martyrs. 

10. Cried: their blood; Gen., iv. 10. Faith in 
God's promise; not revenge. 

12. Earthquake: Convulsion; the overthrow of 
paganism. Is. xxxiv. 4. Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8. Joel ii. 
31. iii. 16. The Sun here denotes the pagan govern- 
ment; the Moon, the ecclesiastical state; the Stars, 
the heathen gods, heroes, priests, &c.; Heaven, the 
whole system of pagan worship; Mountains, its 
props and supports. — This prophecy may also refer 
to the final judgment: Is. ii. 10 — 21; St. Matt, 
xxiv. 29. 

16. Fallon us: an expression of perturbation and 
alarm: Hosea x. 8. 



90 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1—8. We may take up each of these Seals, 
and ask ourselves; Does a nation prosper in all its 
aflPairs, at home and abroad ? or does war desolate a 
land? or is it distressed by oppression and scarcity? 
or is it visited with pestilence and famine? or is it 
convulsed by revolution? In the first case we see 
the divine goodness, and the other cases the divine 
judgments; — the sore afflictions with which God 
punishes guilty nations. 

Ver. 9 — 11. In such a world as this is, the Church, 
or people of God, must expect to suffer : but let them 
beware of Impatience and complaint. It is their 
duty to put their case before God, to plead their 
cause with Him, and to wait the fulfilm^ent of His 
will; assured that they are safe in His hands, and 
thai their happiness and honour will be great. 

Ver. 12 — 17. If we here see the great change 
which took place in the world, when in many nations 
paganism was dethroned ; when pagan darkness was 
exchanged for Christian light ; — (an event which is 
to be meditated upon by us with gratitude and joy;) 
we may, at the same time, be here reminded of that 
fast coming day in which the whole creation will be 
convulsed, and in which the ungodly will be filled 
with consternation and horror. In that day " the 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven;" in 
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know 
not God, and that obey not the Gospel;" and to be 



CHAP. YII. 



91 



glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them 
that believe." 

great and blessed God, may we meditate on 
Thy judgments, and learn righteousness: may we 
meditate on Thy mercy and love in Christ Jesus, 
and choose the portion of Thy faithful people : ma}^ 
we meditate on the future judgment, and make our 
life a preparation to stand before the Son of man 
with composure and peace, with joy and triumph. 



Scene II. Second Part, 

THE SEALING- AXD PAOI-BEARIXG VISIONS. 

Chapter YIL 

Ver. 1 — 3. The restrcdnt. 4 — 8. The number of 
the sealed. 9. The countless multitude. 10 — 12. 
The Anthem^ or song of the redeemed. 13 — 17. 
Description of them: their blessedness. 

^ And after these things I saw four angels stand- 
ing on the four corners of the earth, holding the 
four winds of the earth, that the wind should not 
blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 
- And I saw another angel ascending from the east, 
having the seal of the living God : and he cried with 
a loud voice to the four ano^els. to whom it was riven 
to hurt the earth and the sea, ^ Saying, Hurt not 



92 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have 
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 

^ And I heard the number of them which were 
sealed : and there icere sealed an hundred aiid forty 
and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of 
Israel. Of the tribe of Juda icere sealed twelve 
thousand. Of the tribe of Eeuben icey-'e sealed twelve 
thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve 
thousand. ^ Of the tribe of Aser we^-'e sealed twelve 
thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim wei^e sealed 
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses icere 
sealed twelve thousand. " Of the tribe of Simeon 
ivere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi 
were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar 
were sealed twelve thousand. ^ Of the tribe of 
Zabulon icere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe 
of J oseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe 
of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 

^ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, 
which no man could number, of all nations, and 
kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the 
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white 
robes, and palms in their hands; 

And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation 
to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about 
the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, 
and fell before the throne on their faces, and wor- 
shipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, 
and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and 



CHAP. VII. 



93 



power, and might, he unto our God for ever and 
ever. Amen. 

And one of the elders answered, saying unto 
me, What are these which are arrayed in white 
robes? and whence came they? And I said unto 
him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These 
are they which came out of great tribulation, and 
have washed their robes, and made them white in 
the blood of the Lamb. ^'^ Therefore are they before 
the throne of God, and serve him day and night in 
his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne shall 
dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light 
on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is 
in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

NOTES. 

Ver. L Four angels: agents which God employs 
in the dispensations of Providence. 

Holding: restraining; suspending judgments till 
the Church of Christ grew strong. 

2. Another: perhaps designed to represent Christ 
himself 

Seal: (a token of high office: Gen. xh. 42.) em- 
blem of the Holy Spirit, who seals believers, and 
whose mark is Holiness to the Lord." Eph. i. 13. 
We here see, that, although the Gospel had tri- 
umphed, the sins of men called for judgment. 



94 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



3. Sealed: Ezek. ix. 4. 

4. Israel: Christians are here spoken of in Jewish 
language: the Gentiles are now God's Israel: He 
has a sealed people among all nations. — 144000: 
comparatively few. 

9. White robes: Holiness. 

Palms: emblems of victory over the world, the 
flesh, and the devil. 

12. Blessing : solemn Heptade of praise; here to 
the eternal Father, as in Chap. v. 12. to the Lamb. 

15. Dwell: Chap. xxi. 3. xxii. 3, 4. 

16. Hung er,,, Heat : no want, oppression, or per- 
secution. 

17. Feed': communicate to them all that gives 
happiness. 

Living fountains : perpetual; always flowing. 

REFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 8. In this chapter w^e see the Church of 
the living God, consisting of true Israelites. They 
are in any one age comparatively few ; for the mul- 
titude walk in an evil way. Still we rejoice that 
Christ has a people in the earth; true and faithful 
followers of Him : and these are objects of His special 
care, whose interests He regards in all the changes 
of the world, being Himself the Head over all 
things to the church." — They are " sealed" — marked 
as His own, His peculiar people; wrought upon, 
and made holy, by the Holy Spirit. They are thus 
known to be "the servants of our God:" and they 



CHAP. VII. 



95 



are said to be marked in their foreheads," to inti- 
mate that they openly confess Christ. They are 

not ashamed" of Him and of His Gospel ; and they 
"let their light shine before men." Sound and 
healthy piety is spiritual and hidden, and at the same 
time practical and visible. Such was the Church in 
primitive times ; and such it is from age to age ; the 

golden candlestick" of our benighted world. 

Ver. 9 — 12. And let us look forward to the end. 
It will then be seen, that the assembly of the re- 
deemed form a host " which no man could number." 
It is thus that the Eedeemer " shall see of the travail 
of His soul;" it is thus that He shall bring many 
sons to glory." People of all nations, tribes, and 
tongues, shall be found in that blessed and rejoicing 
company. There all is imity: their happiness is 
one ; their spirit is one ; their voice and their song 
are one. One in holiness, one in victory, one in 
triumph, they ascribe Salvation to God and to the 
Lamb." How humble reverential, and joyful is 
their worship; ascribing seven-fold praise to the 
Author and Giver of their bliss ! 

Ver. 13 — 17. But we meditate on these glori- 
fied spirits. They were once in great tribulation ;" 
once they felt all that we suffering mortals feel: but 
they truly believed in Christ, cleaved faithfully to 
Him, and, being pardoned by faith in His blood, 
and renewed by His Spirit, they are now holy beings 
in the presence of their God and Saviour. Once in 
the wilderness below, they are now^ in the temple 



96 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



above; no more to hunger and thirst; no more to 
suffer persecution and trials. The sorrows of time 
are succeeded by the joys of eternity. The Lamb 
will feed them with living bread, and lead them to 
the never-failing fountains of delight and bliss. 

delightful thought ! Are we impressed with the 
seal of the living God? The day will come when 
we shall wave the palm. Blessed Jesus! whatever 
be our portion here, may we so trust in Thee, con- 
fess Thee, and follow Thee, as that we may join the 
innumerable Host of the glorified, and, in joy and 
gladness, ascribe, through everlasting ages, " Salva- 
tion to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb." 



Scene III. First Fart. 

SEVENTH SEAL : FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS. 

Chapter VIIL 

Ver. 1 — 6. First Syllahus: Seventh Seal: prepara- 
tion for the seven Trumpets. 7. Fii^st Trumpet. 
8, 9. Second Trumpet. 10, IL Third Trumpet. 
12, 13. Fourth Trumpet. 

^ And when he had opened the seventh seal, there 
was silence in heaven about the space of half an 
hour. ^ And I saw the seven angels which stood 
before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 



CHAP. VIII. 



97 



^ And another angel came and stood at the altar, 
having a golden censer; and there was given unto 
him much incense, that he should offer it with the 
prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was 
before the throne. ^ And the smoke of the incense, 
wTdch came with the prayers of the saints, ascended 
up before God out of the angel's hand. ^ And the 
angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the 
altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were 
voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an 
earthquake. ^ And the seven angels which had the 
seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 

^ The first angel sounded, and there followed hail 
and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast 
upon the earth : and the third part of trees was burnt 
up, and all green grass w^as burnt up. 

^ And the second angel sounded, and as it were 
a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the 
sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 
^ And the third part of the creatures which were in 
the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the 
ships were destroyed. 

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a 
great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, 
and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and 
upon the fountains of waters; And the name of 
the star is called Wormwood : and the third part of 
the waters became wormwood ; and many men died 
of the waters, because they were made bitter. 

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third 
F 



98 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the 
moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third 
part of them was darkened, and the day shone not 
for a third part of it, and the night Ukewise. And 
I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the 
midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, 
woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of 
the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, 
which are yet to sound ! 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. Was silence: or, there had been a period 
of tranquilhty, with some intermission, from the reign 
of Constantino to the death of Theodosius : about 70 
years. 

2. Trumpets : trumpets were used to collect people ; 
to express joy; to move the camp; or to prepare for 
battle : trumpets here indicate wars. 

3. Another Angel', representing our blessed Lord, 
about to perform the office of a High Priest. — Altar: 
of incense; Exod. xxx. 1 — 10. 

4. Prayers ; for the hastening of Christ's kingdom : 
chap. vi. 10. 

5. Tlie earth: thus intimating coming judgments 
and desolations. 

Voices^ C}'C. : denoting confusion, change, distress, 
and misery. 

7. Hail^ ^x.: Exod. ix. 24. — Third part: this 
expression may refer to a tripartite division of the 
Roman Empire, A.D. 311. — 1. Western Empire; 



CHAP. VIII. 



99 



Gaul, Spain, Britain, Italy, and Africa: Constantine. 
— 2. Eastern Empire; the Asiatic Provinces and 
Egypt: ]\Iaximin: — 3. The Illyrian Praefecture, (or 
Intermediate third); Licinius. — Trees: chief men. — 
Green grass : the common people. 

8. A mountain: a kingdom; Jer. li. 25. — Sea: 
symbol of peoples. 

10. A great star: some eminent person. 

11. Wormwood: so called from the bitter and 
distressing effects of his influence. 

12. The sun: Is. xiii. 10. Amos viii. 9: over- 
throw of the Eoman Polity by Odoacer, king of the 
Heruli. A.D. 476. 

13. Woe: A panic existed through the Church 
after the havoc of the Gothic invasions, 

REFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 6. It was the office of our blessed Lord 
not only (Is. Ixi. 2.) to ''proclaim the acceptable 
year of the Lord," but also "the day of vengeance 
of our God." A little reflection will show us, that 
the Apocalypse fully illustrates this fact. The ways 
of God towards man are ways of love, mercy, grace, 
and salvation; but they are^ also ways of hoHness, 
righteousness, judgment, and punishment. — The 
Church upon earth prays; and her High Priest 
above presents her prayers to His Father. Nor does 
she thus pray in vain ; nor is Christ's intercession in 
vain : for here we see that God immediately proceeds 
to fulfil His purposes. — We may, for our comfort, be 

F 2 



100 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



assured, that we never pray in vain, if we pray with 
believing hearts ; looking to our all-prevaiHng Inter- 
cessor. Nor let us ever forget, that it is only through 
Him, through the incense — the virtue of His media- 
tion and intercession — that our prayers ascend up 
before God, and are accepted and answered: without 
this they are frustrate. 

Yer. 7- — 13. The first four trumpets are considered 
as describing the calamities and subversion of the 
Pagan Eoman Empire, by the nations of the north, 
in the fifth century of our Era. Eome, in the course 
of twelve hundred years, had proceeded, fi:om a 
small beginning, in a career of conquest, until she 
had made herself Mistress of the world. Her empire 
was wide ; her power resistless ; her wealth immense ; 
and her grandeur most imposing. But her wicked- 
ness and profligacy, her cruelty and oppression, were 
great : and when Christianity rose to bless the world, 
Eome acted the part of an unrelenting persecutor. — 
In these Trumpets, (in the measures of Divine Pro- 
vidence denoted by them,) we see the judgments of 
God inflicted on this guilty empire. Hosts of rude 
Barbarians, one tide after another, invade it: and in 
a short time it is broken, subdued, and as it were 
crushed to the dust, or scattered to the winds. 
What scenes of desolation and misery were then 
exhibited ! How melts away all human power, and 
how fades away all earthly glory, when God comes 
forth against a land in the way of judgment! 

One of the lessons which we are here taught is. 



CHAP. YIII. 



101 



The righteousness of God in His providential deal- 
ings. We readily say, that at His command nations 
rise and flourish, fade and perish: but in their pros- 
perity and decay we are apt to look only to outward 
things. It would be more wise and just if we looked 
to things inward; to what is moral and spiritual. 
Eighteousness, the fruit of true religion, (compre- 
hending in it all virtue,) is the strength of a people; 
and the want of it, (accompanied as that want will 
be, with all vice,) is weakness, shame, distraction, 
misery, and ruin. 

Nor let us ever fail to learn the lessons of personal 
religion from the contemplation of the ways of God 
towards nations. If we live in sin, we may flourish 
and prosper for a season, but the judgments of the 
holy God will infallibly overtake us. Let all the 
earth fear the Lord : let all the inhabitants of the 
world stand in awe of Him." that each of us may 
duly consider both " the acceptable year," and " the 
day of vengeance !" Under the former we live, for 
" Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is 
the day of salvation:" and the latter will arrive; 

when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven 
with his mighty angels. In flaming fire taking ven- 
geance on them that know not God, and that obey 
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 
i. 7, 8. 



102 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Scene III. Second Part, 

TWO OF THE WOE TRUMPETS. 

Chapter IX. 

Ver. 1—12; Fifth Trumioet. 1, 2. The pit, or 
ahyss : synoke, ^'c, 3. Locusts, 4 — 6. Their 
commission. 7 — 10. Description of them. 11, 
12. Their king, 8fc. 13—19. The Sixth Trumpet. 
13 — 15. The four angels loosed. 16 — 19. The 
horsemen described : their destructive power. 20, 
21. Impenitence of men. 

^ AxD the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star 
fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was 
given the key of the bottomless pit. - And he 
opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke 
out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and 
the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the 
smoke of the pit. 

^ And there came out of the smoke locusts upon 
the earth : and unto them was given power, as the 
scorpions of the earth have power. And it was 
commanded them that they should not hurt the 
grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither 
any tree ; but only those men which have not the 
seal of God in their foreheads. ^ And to them it 
was given that they should not kill them, but that 
they should be tormented five months: and their 
torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he 



CHAP. IX. 



103 



striketh a man. ^ And in those days shall men seek 
death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, 
and death shall flee from them. 

And the shapes of the locusts loere like unto 
horses prepared unto battle ; and on their heads were 
as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as 
the faces of men. ^ And they had hair as the hair 
of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 
^ And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates 
of iron; and the sound of their wings ivas as the 
sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there 
were stings in their tails: and their power loas to 
hurt men five months. 

And they had a king over them, which is the 
angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the 
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek, 
tongue hath his name ApoUyon. One woe is past; 
and^ behold, there come two woes more hereafter. 

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a 
voice from the four horns of the golden altar which 
is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which 
had the trumpet. Loose the four angels which are 
bound in the great river Euphrates. And the 
four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an 
hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to 
slay the third part of men. 

And the number of the army of the horsemen 
were two hundred thousand thousand : and I heard 
the number of them. And thus I saw the horses 



104 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



in the vision, and them that sat on them, having 
breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: 
and the heads of the horses were as the heads of hons ; 
and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and 
brimstone. 

By these three was the third part of men killed, 
by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, 
which issued of their mouths. For their power is 
in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were 
like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them 
they do hurt. 

And the rest of the men which were not killed 
by these plagues yet repented not of the works of 
their hands, that they should not worship devils, and 
idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of 
wood : which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk : 
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of 
their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their 
thefts. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. A star: Mohammed. Pit, or abyss: 
Hell, Satan's kingdom. 

2. Smoke: false doctrine, obscuring the light of 
heaven. 

3. Locusts: Joel, ii: hordes of military troops: 
Saracens. 

Scorpions: they hurt by stinging; by infusing 
poison: pernicious doctrines. 

4. Not the seal: false, hypocritical Christians. 



CHAP. IX. 



105 



5. Given: permitted: not kill; not destroy as a 
political body. 

Tormented: great misery and torture inflicted 
upon them. Five months : 30 X 5 = 150 years. 

7. Horses: Joel, ii. 4. Faces: brave and warlike. 

8. Hair: long hair; unshaven beards. Teeth: 
ferocious, cruel. 

9. Wings: swift in motion: Joel, ii. 5 — 7. 

11. A king: Mohammed; then Caliphs — Abad- 
don: destroyer. 

14. Four angels: chap. vii. 1: God's instruments. 

15. Loosed: set free to conquer Christian lands. 
For an hour^ Sfc. : at the expiration of: 1 + 30 + 

360 = 391 years; and 15 days. 

16. Number: 200 millions; that is, innumerable. 

17. Brimstone^ Sfc: the Turks used modern ar- 
tillery: they wear warlike apparel of scarlet, blue, . 
and yellow colours. 

Third part: expressive of great carnage. Or, 
the Eastern third part of the Eoman world. 
Killed: politically. 

19. Tails: (ver. 10; the Turks, as the Saracens, 
were Mohammedans,) infusing the poison of false 
doctrine. 

20. The rest: the Western Church, — Devils: 
daemons, dead men, &c. 

21. Murders: persecutions and cruelties: 
Sorceries : tricks and pretended miracles : 
Fornications: idolatry, saint-worship, unduly hon- 
ouring creatures: 

Thefts: exactions, indulgences, impositions. 
F 5 



106 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 12. The last three Trumpets are called 
the Woe-Trumpets. The first of them is contained 
in these twelve verses. In the preceding chapter 
our attention yms confined to the Western world ; 
but we now turn to the Eastern part of it. The last 
two verses of the chapter may furnish us with an 
idea that leads us to a right view of the cause of 
God's sore judgments. It is man's wickedness and 
impenitence which bring down upon him the awful 
proofs of God's righteous anger. 

We know from History, that the Church in the 
East was become very corrupt, sinful, and idolatrous. 
How awful were the ways of God in punishing this 
unfaithfulness ! He permitted an Imposter to rise, 
and, (with a book of falsehood and folly in one 
hand, and with a sword in the other,) to go forth, 
and establish in the world an erroneous creed and a 
despotic empire. Thus hath the heavenly Vine, the 
true Church of God, been wasted (Ps. Ixxx. 13.) by 
the boar out of the wood, and devoured by the wild 
beast of the field. Here we see one of the mysteries 
in the ways of God's moral government which we 
cannot unfold. It becomes us to be silent and adore. 
It becomes us to be thankful, that we have not been 
visited with such a calamity. It becomes us to 
improve our blessings, lest we be deprived of them, 
and given up to some delusion or other. 

13 — -19. We know from History, that the Sara- 



CHAP. IX. 



107 



cens became a luxurious, inert, and divided people, 
and then lost their strength as a nation. But men 
(ver. 20, 21,) had not repented, and the first woe 
(ver. 12,) was followed by the second. The former 
destroyers of the east, for such we may call the 
Saracens, were themselves destroyed; but it was by 
a race of rude and ferocious men, who had received 
the creed of the Arabian Imposter. These still re- 
main in baneful power, and the Eoman Eastern 
Capitol is the Capitol of their Empire. This second, 
or the Turkish, woe, may perhaps be viewed as only 
confirming and deepening the prostration and misery 
of the Church of Christ ; chiefly in the East. 

Surely we cannot meditate on these things with- 
out seeing, (i.) what an awful thing it is to abuse 
the divine goodness, and to incur the divine displea- 
sure; without strengthening our conviction, (ii.) that 
we ought to look well to ourselves, — each of us to 
himself, — that we bring forth grapes, and not wild 
grapes; Is. v. 2; and without being persuaded, (iii.) 
that one of the daily prayers of our hearts ought to 
be; Have mercy upon all Jews, Turks, Infidels, 
and Hereticks; and take fi:om them all ignorance, 
hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy Word ; and 
so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to Thy flock, 
that they may be saved among the remnant of the 
true Israelites, and be made one fold under one Shep- 
herd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 



op 



108 THE APOCALYPSE. 

Scene IV, First Part. 

THE REFORMATION. 

Chapter X. 

1,2. A mighty angel with a little hook open, 3, 4. 
He speaks : seven thunders. 5 — 7. His oath. 
8 — 11. St. John takes and eats the book: his com- 
mission. 

^ And I saw another mighty angel come down 
from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow 
was upon his head, and his face iva^ as it were the 
sun, and hi's feet as pillars of fire: - And he had in 
his hand a little book open: and he set his right 
foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 

^ And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion 
roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders 
uttered their voices. ^ And when the seven thun- 
ders had uttered their voices, I was about to write : 
and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 
Seal up those things which the seven thunders 
uttered, and write them not. 

And the angel w4iich I saw stand upon the 
sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 
^ And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, 
who created heaven, and the things that therein are, 
and the earth, and the things that therein are, and 
the sea, and the things which are therein, that there 
should be time no longer: ' But in the days of the 



CHAP. X. 



109 



voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to 
sound the mystery of God should be finished, as he 
hath declared to his servants the prophets. 

^ And the voice which I heard from heaven spake 
unto me again and said. Go and take the little book 
which is open in the hand of the angel which 
standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. ^ And 
I went unto the angel, and said imto him, Give me 
the little book. And he said unto me, Take it^ and 
eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it 
shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I 
took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate 
it up ; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey : and 
as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 

And he said unto me. Thou must prophesy again 
before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and 
kings. 

NOTES. 

1. Angel: Christ, or His representative. Cloud: 
majesty. 

Rainbow : token of God's gracious covenant. Sun : 
glorious. 

Pillars: stability, energy, rapidity, resistless power 

2. Booh: the Scriptures. Sea and earth: univer- 
sal dominion. 

3. 4. Seven^ <^x. Thunders from the seven hills of 
Rome; the Pope's anathemas, &c.; the results of 
rage and fear. Write them not: they rolled by, dis- 
regarded by the true Church. 



110 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



6. Time : that the time shall not yet be." 

7. Shall begin: (whensoever he may be about to 
sound.) 

Mystery: in suffering sin and confusion to pre- 
vail so much in the world. 

9. Eat: study it thoroughly. 

10. Sweety Sf'c: it contained the most pleasing 
and painful things concerning the Church. 

11. PropA^sy.- proclaim and teach. So chap. xi. 3. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Yer. 1, 2. Always maintain the most elevated 
and glorious views of the Lord Jesus Christ. How 
splendid was His appearance upon the Mount of 
Transfiguration ! How splendid is it here ! What 
shall we say of His glory, when we see Him as He 
is ! His dominion is universal: and to Him. who is 
the Truth, it belongs to give Truth its diffusion and 
prevalence. 

3, 4. When Christ speaks in the ministry of His 
word, sending forth His truth among men, He 
speaks with authority: His voice will be heard. 
But the audacious voices of his adversaries will also 
be heard at the same time : these, however, we are 
to disregard, and only to listen to our great Prophet. 

5 — 7. In the word, the promise, and the oath of 
God, we have a sure ground for our faith to rest 
upon. We are to wait, and to be patient, assured 
that God will accomplish His purposes in due sea- 
son, and clear up mysteries. 



CHAP. X. 



Ill 



8 — 11. The Scriptures are designed for our edifi- 
cation : the Bible is Christ's gift to us ; and it is the 
duty of all men to study it, digest it, and delight in 
it. It is sweet; for it is the word of mercy, grace, 
and love to the godly; and it is also bitter; for it 
sets forth the wickedness and misery of the ungodly. 
But, thankful for the heavenly gift, may we receive 
it, walk in the light, rejoice in happiness, and make 
known the divine treasure to others. 

In chap. viii. and ix. we see the ways of God in 
judgment, punishing the guilty nations: but in this 
chapter we see His ways in mercy; causing, amidst 
the folly and confusion of the world, the light of the 
Gospel to burst forth on benighted and enslaved 
myriads. blessed Jesus ! may we so receive the 
truth, and be instructed in it, and governed by it, 
that we may finally behold Thee in Thy glory, and 
rejoice before Thee for ever. 

St. John may be viewed as personifying or repre- 
senting the faithful ministers of Christ; who may 
here learn their duty, and the nature of their office. 
They will be more and more acquainted with what 
is delightful and with what is painful : but they must 
faithfully persevere in their work, and be the heralds 
of salvation to all men without distinction. 



112 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Scene IV. Second Part. 

Chapter XI. 

1, 2. The temple^ courts and holy city. 3 — 6. The 
Two Witnesses', their time, condition^ and power. 
7 — 12. TJiey are slain by a Beast; rise again ; 
and are exalted. 13, 14. EarthquaJce: the third 
woe announced. 15. The Seventh Trumpet sounded'. 
15 — 18. The Second Syllabus-. Fourth Anthem: 
glory ascrihed to God. 19. The temple opened. 

^ And there was given me a reed like unto a rod : 
and tlie angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure tlie 
temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship 
therein. ^ But the court which is without the 
temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given 
unto the Gentiles : and the holy city shall they tread 
under foot forty and two months. 

^ And I will give power unto my two witnesses, 
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred 
and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. ^ These 
are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks 
standing before the God of the earth. And if any 
man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their 
mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any 
man will hurt them, he must in this manner be 
killed. ^ These have power to shut heaven, that it 
rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have 
power over waters to turn them to blood, and to 



CHAP. XI. 



113 



smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they 
will. 

^ And when they shall have finished their testi- 
mony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless 
pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome 
them, and kill them. ^ And their dead bodies shall 
lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually 
is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord 
was crucified. ^ And they of the people and kin- 
dreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead 
bodies three days and an half, and shall not suflfer 
their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they 
that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, 
and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another ; 
because these two prophets tormented them that 
dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an 
half the Spirit of life from God entered into them,- 
and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell 
upon them which saw them. And they heard a 
great voice from heaven saying unto them. Come 
up hither. And they ascended up to lieaven in a 
cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 

And the same hour was there a great earth- 
quake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the 
earthquake were slain of men seven thousand : and 
the remnant w^ere affrighted, and gave glory to the 
God of heaven. The second woe is past; and^ 
behold, the third woe cometh quickly. 

And the seventh angel sounded; and there 
were great voices in heaven, saying. The kingdoms 



114 THE APOCALYPSE. 

of tills world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, 
and of his Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and 
ever. And the four and twentv elders, which sat 

before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and 
worshipped God, Saying, AVe give thee thanks, 
Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and 
art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy 
great power, and hast reigned. ^- And the nations 
were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of 
the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou 
shouldest give revrard unto thy servants the prophets, 
and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, 
small and great; and shouldest destroy them which 
destroy the earth. 

And the temple of God was opened in heaven 
and there was seen in his temple the ark of his 
testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, 
and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. 

NOTES. 

1. A reed'. Ezek. xl. 3: a reed hke a staff of 
office and authority. It intimates God's care of His 
Church. 

Temple: symbolic of the Church universal. 
Them therein : these represent real Christians. 

2. Court of the Gentiles', nominal Christians: 
called Gentiles, as having idolatrous practices : these 
afSict the holy city or the true Church during 42 
mionths or 1260 vears. 



CHAP. XI. 



115 



3. Two witnesses', a small but competent number: 
such the Church has always had. 

4. Olive trees : two must be understood as it is 
used m reference to the witnesses. 

0, 6. Fire cyc\ they would denounce God's judg- 
ments: allusion to Exod. vii. 1. Kings xvii. xviii. 
Jer. i. 10. 

7. Finished: completed to a certain point: xiii. 7. 
Kill: destroy their power. 

8. Street: some conspicuous place within the 
jurisdiction of Eome. 

Sodom: Eome, called Sodom for corruption; 
Egypt, for tyranny. 

9 Dead: the refusal of burial is the sum of cruelty 
and brutality. 

10. Send gifts: an expression of joy : Esther ix. 22. 

11. Tliree ojid a half days: that is three and a 
half years. If we refer ver. 9 — 13 to the Reforma- 
tion, the space of time denoted is that between A.D. 
1514 and 1517. 

They stood: were restored to their former state. 

12. To heaven: to an exalted and prosperous con- 
dition. 

13. EartlLquake: commotion among the perse- 
cutors. — Tenth part: one of the ten kingdoms. — 
7000; many. — Gave glory: glorified God for His 
judgments and His goodness. 

14. Second woe ended A.D. 1774: Third woe 
began A.D. 1789. 

17. Taken to Thee: Shown and exercised. 



116 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



18. Angry: enraged against the Gospel. — Pro- 
phets ; teachers. — Saints ; other true Christians. 

19. Temple opened', see the Analysis. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1, 2. Form an idea of the Church: Wor- 
shippers in the the temple* true and spiritual; Wor- 
shippers in the court, formal and corrupt. In the 
one, we see the true Israelites; in the other, those 
who are Gentiles, worldly and idolatrous. But 
let the true Church remember, that she is an object 
of God's special care, and that He does all that is 
requisite for her order and prosperity. But depres- 
sion and tribulation during a long season are the lot 
of the Church in this trial-world; an Egypt or a 
wilderness, not a Canaan. 

3 — 6. We look with delight on the Church; the 
Witness for Christ ; the Olive tree ; the candlestick ; 
the joy and light of the world. How preferable is 
her sackcloth-dress to the " purple and scarlet" in 
which (xvii. 4.) the Mother of Harlots is arrayed! 
Weak and depressed and sorrowful she may seem ; 
but God is her protector; and she shall faithfully 
announce to men the mercies and the terrors of the 
Lord; and her testimony shall accomplish its pur- 
pose, in the salvation of the humble, and the ruin 
of the proud. 

7 — 14. The History of the Eeformation elucidates 
these verses. — We see here what may be called one 
of the great trials of the Church. An Adversary 



CHAP. XI. 



117 



rises up, raging, cruel, and victorious ; the Witnesses 
are in some sense vanquished and slain; deprived of 
power and doomed to silence: the ungodly rejoice 
in their bad success: but God soon appears on be- 
half of His Church, and not only gives her existence 
and life, but also raises her to elevation and in- 
fluence. The adversary's kingdom is convulsed; a 
part of it abjures his sway; and the ways and judg- 
ments of God constrain men to give glory to Him. 
Thus the Church has had a severe trial; and more 
trials await her : but He who has been her Supporter 
and Deliverer in past ages will be such both now 
and for evermore. be it our study to ''follow 
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
meekness," and, in the contemplation of the Divine 
proceedings, to '' give glory to the God of Heaven." 

15 — 19. Let us learn from the heavenly host how . 
to contemplate, and how to celebrate, the ways of 
God. It is to spiritual things that their attention is 
directed. Their joy and thankfulness arise from 
viewing the blessed event, that " the kingdoms of 
this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, 
and of His Christ;" and from considering the 
righteousness of God's proceedings, in punishing the 
ungodly, and in rewarding His faithful servants. — 
Here, then, w^e have subjects for our serious medita- 
tion, our earnest prayers, and our joyful praise. — 
Take to Thee, Lord God Almighty, Thy great 
power, and reign; reign in all nations; in all hearts; 
and in our hearts ; that we may praise Thy holy 
Name for ever. Amen. 



118 THE APOCALYPSE. 

Scene V. Intermediate : Four Parts. 
Chap. XII.— XV. 1—4. 
PART I. PAGAN ROME, ETC. SEE THE ANALYSIS. 

Chapter XII. 

i. Before Constantine. 1 — 6. The Woman and the 
red Dragon. 7 — 9. War in heaven. 10 — 12. 
Fifth Anthem. — ii. After Constantine. 13 — 17. 
Further conflict. 

^ And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; 
a woman dothed with the sun, and the moon under 
her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars : 
^ And she being with child cried, travaihng in birth, 
and pained to be delivered. ^ And there appeared 
another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red 
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven 
crowns upon his heads. ^ And his tail drew the 
third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them 
to the earth : and the dragon stood before the woman 
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her 
child as soon as it was born. ^ And she brought 
forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with 
a rod of iron : and her child was caught up unto 
God, and to his throne. ^ And the woman fled into 
the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of 
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two 
hundred and threescore days. 



CHAP. XII. 



119 



' And there was war in heaven : Michael and his 
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon 
fought and his angels, ^ And prevailed not; neither 
was their place found any more in heaven. ^ And 
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, 
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the 
whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and 
his angels were cast out with him. 

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven. 
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the king- 
dom of our God, and the power of his Christ : for 
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which 
accused them before our God day and night. And 
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and 
by the word of their testimony; and they loved not 
their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye 
heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the 
inhabiters of the earth and of the sea ! for the devil 
is come down unto you, having great wrath, because 
he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 

And when the dragon saw that he was cast 
unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which 
brought forth the man child. And to the woman 
were given two wings of a great eagle, that she 
might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where 
she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a 
time, from the face of the serpent. And the 
serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after 
the woman, that he might cause her to be carried 
away of the flood. And the earth helped the 



120 THE APOCALYPSE. 

woman, and tlie earth opened her mouth, and swal- 
lowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his 
mouth. ^'^ And the dragon was wroth with the 
woman, and went to make war with the remnant of 
her seed, which keep the commandments of God, 
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

NOTES. 

1. Aivoman: symbol of the true Church ; clothed 
with sun-like radiance; superior to earthly things; 
her ministers the stars in her diadem. 

2. Travailing: persecution and sorrow under the 
pagan Eniperors. 

Delivered: to have a large accession to her con- 
verts. 

3. Dragon: the pagan Koman Empire; a per- 
secuting power, instigated by Satan. 

Seven heads: seven forms of government; Kings, 
Consuls, Dictators, Decemvirs, Military Tribunes, 
Emperors, and a seventh form, of which we cannot 
speak positively: see chap. xiii. 3. 

Ten horns: see Dan. vii; Note B. 

4. Stars of heaven : ministers of the Church. Cast 
them, 8fc. : corrupted them, and made them men of 
the world ; or, deprived them of rank and influence ; 
as ver. 13. 

5. Ma7i child: emblem of the Christian Church. 
Caught up: raised to eminence upon earth under 
Christian Emperors. 



CHAP. XII. 



121 



6. Fled: corruption was soon introduced: the 
true Church was depressed. 

7. War: conflict between Christianity and pagan- 
ism. 

Michael^ Sfc: emblem of Christ and His ministers. 

8. Heaven: no longer on the throne of the Eoman 
Empire: paganism was vanquished: St. Lukex. 18. 
A.D 313—390. 

9. Earth: he was degraded. — His angels: the 
pagan priests. 

10 — 12. Song of Triumph in the Church over 
heathen idolatry. 

13. Cast: no longer supported by the civil power. 
Persecuted: Julian; Arius; corruptions; &c. 

14. Fly: not locally; the flight fas in ver. 6) de- 
notes speedy declension from purity to a spiritually 
forlorn state. 

Two wings : referring to the division of the Empire 
into Eastern and Western, A.D. 395. 

15. Flood: northern invaders; chap. viii. Some 
say, false and heretical doctrines. 

16. Helped: the Emperors were mostly inclined 
to the orthodox faith ; the invaders received Chris- 
tianity: thus Satan's devices were frustrated. 

17. War: he began a new sort of opposition and 
persecvition : chap. xiii. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1, 2. Here is a noble and deHghtful image 
of the Church; and, we may add, of each of her 

G 



122 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



true members. Do we reflect the bright lustre of 
the Sun of Eighteousness? Do we keep the transi- 
tory and mutable things of earth under our feet? 
Are we true disciples of the Apostles? Are we full 
of tender anxiety for the conversion of our fellow 
sinners? 

3 — 6. Here we see the great enemy of man, acting 
by the instrumentality of Pagan Eome, as a persecu- 
tor, seducer, and corrupter. He succeeds in depress- 
ing the children of the Church for a season; but 
still, in spite of his malice, her children multiphed, 
and waxed very mighty;" Exod. i. 20. The Gospel 
prevailed, and the Church was raised to temporal 
eminence^ ver. 5. But, ver. 6, this elevation was 
soon followed by depression : her prosperity was her 
bane: she is preserved, but is doomed to spend a 
long period in a wilderness-state, in which she now 
is. Here we see the goodness and the severity of 
God. 

7 — 9. There was a severe conflict between Truth 
and Error, between the Gospel and Paganism, before 
Paganism was degraded and the Gospel obtained an 
established ascendancy. But at last Satan did fall 
as lightning from heaven," — from that supremacy in 
the world, which he had exercised through many 
ages. — We must observe, however, that Satan is 
only degraded; he still hves, still acts, still tries to 
" deceive the whole world;" so that we, as indi- 
viduals, have a war to carry on. We must " put on 
the whole armour of God, that we may be able to 



CHAP. XII. 



123 



stand against the wiles of the devil." Eph. vi. 
11—13. 

10 — 12. In such joyful and grateful strains, did 
the Church above rejoice on behalf of the Church 
below, when they saw the sceptre of Satan so far 
shivered, and his throne so far subverted. And we 
may take up and repeat the triumphant strain. We 
must not forget our enemy and our danger ; he who 
is cast out into the earth" will not fail to show his 
wrath, and to assail the Church. But, with what 
joy and gratitude should we say, Now is come 
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, 
and the power of His Christ!" By faith in ^^the 
blood of the Lamb," and by our open profession of 
Christ and of His Gospel, may we overcome !" If 
Christ be ours now, we shall subdue every foe, and 
heaven will be ours at last and for ever. 

13 — 17. If we look upon these verses as a con- 
densed history of the Church from about the days 
of Constantine to the prominent appearance of the 
Papacy in the seventh century, we know that history 
gives us the clearest illustration of them. Satan 
persecutes the Church, — she becomes more corrupt, 
— she is preserved, but is depressed, — she has enemies 
within and without, — but her living Head frustrates 
the measures of her foe, and turns them to His own 
glory. But still the foe is directly opposed to those 
who keep the commandments of God, and have 
the testimony of Jesus Christ." This holds good in 
all ages; and it will hold good unto the last. be 

G 2 



124 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



it our daily prayer, that " the kingdom of our God, 
and the power of His Christ" may prevail through 
all the world; may prevail in our own hearts; and 
that we may be enabled, in spite of Satan's fraud 
and force, to " keep the commandments of God, and 
to have the testimony of Jesus Christ;" retaining at 
the greatest hazard the pure uncorrupted Gospel ! 



PART n. PAPAL ROME. 

Chapter XIII. 

1 — 10. A Beast out of the sea. 11 — 14. Another 
Beast out of the earth. 15 — 17. The image of the 
Beast. 18. His Number. 

^ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw 
a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads 
and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and 
upon his heads the name of blasphemy. ^ And the 
beast which I saw was Hke unto a leopard, and his 
feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the 
mouth of a Hon: and the dragon gave him his 
power, and his seat, and great authority. ^ And I 
saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death ; 
and his deadly wound was healed : and all the world 
wondered after the beast. ^ And they worshipped 
the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and 
they worshipped the beast, saying. Who is like unto 
the beast? who is able to make war with him ? ^ And 



CHAP. XIII. 



125 



there was given unto him a mouth speaking great 
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto 
him to continue forty and two months. ^ And he 
opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to 
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them 
that dwell in heaven. ' And it was given unto liim 
to make war with the saints, and to overcome them : 
and power was given him over all kindreds, and 
tongues, and nations. - And all that dwell upon the 
earth shall worship him, whose names are not written 
in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foun- 
dation of the world. ^ If any man have an ear let 
him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go 
into captivity : he that killeth with the sword must 
be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and 
the faith of the saints. 

And I beheld another beast coming up out of , 
the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and 
he spake as a dragon. ^- And he exerciseth all the 
power of the first beast before him, and causeth the 
earth and them which dwell therein to worship the 
first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And 
he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come 
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by 
the means of those miracles which he had power to 
do in the sight of the beast ; saying to them that 
dwell on the earth, that they should make an image 
to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and 
did live. 



126 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



^•^ And he had power to give life unto the image 
of the beast, that the image of the beast should both 
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship 
the image of the beast should be killed. And he 
causeth all, both small and gi'eat, rich and poor, free 
and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or 
in their foreheads : ^' And that no man might buy 
or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of 
the beast, or the number of his name. Here is 
wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count 
the number of the beast : for it is the number of a 
man; and Ms number is Six hundred threescore and 
six. 

NOTES. 

1. A Beast out of the sea: Papal Eome, xi. 7, 
rising up out of the niins of the Eoman Empire ; 
out of the wars and tumults of the world. 

Seve?i heads — ten horns: chap. xii. 3. 

2. A Leopard: the fourth Beast in Daniel vii. 7, 
'"dreadful and terrible;" having in himself the 
features of the first, second, and third beasts, the 
Lion, Bear, and Leopard: Dan. 4, 5, 6: the 
Dragon also, — (the e^-il power which we saw in 
Pagan Piome, chap. xii. 3, 7, 9; and who continued 
his hostility to the Church, xii. 17.) — is the mighty 
agent in Papal Eome. 

3. Wounded: Healed: the sixth, or Imperial 
Head, was crushed by the northern invasions: it 
was healed or revived by a seventh head, wliich. 



CHAP. XIII. 



127 



chap. xvii. 10, was to " continue for a short space." 
It may not be possible to say, what ruhng power 
formed the seventh head : AVestern Emperors after 
the division of the Empire, or Gothic Kings of Italy, 
or Exarchs. Then the Leopard Beast rises as an 
eighth head; and yet not an eighth, but of the 
seven," chap. xvii. 11; because, though numerically 
an eighth, he was only the revival or repetition of a 
former head; of imperial pagan Eom.e. And this 
holds good, whether we regard the revival of the 
Emperor-ship in Charlemagne, or the revival of a 
persecuting ecclesiastical power. 

4. Worshipped the dragon : All the world in 
submitting thus to the religion of the beast, did in 
effect submit again to the religion of the dragon, it 

^ being the old idolatry with only new names. The 
worshipping of demons and idols is in effect the 
worshipping of devils." Bp. Newton. 

5. Forty and two: 42 X 30 = 1260 years. — Con- 
tinue : to practise, prosper. 

7. Wars: Albigenses, AValdenses, Inquisition. 
11. Another Beast : ''The Eoman Hierarchy, or 
body of the clergy, regular and secular. 
Out of the earth : silently, gradually. 

13. Wonders: pretended miracles.^ — Fire: indig- 
nation on those who rebel against his authority. 

14. Image : the Papal General Councils. 

16. Mark: popish worship. — Right-hand: activity. 
— Foreheads: open profession. 

17. Buy or sell: Popery forbids communion with 



128 



THE APOCALTPSE. 



lieretics in selling or bu}dng: so did Paganism in 
the reign of Diocletian. See Bp. Xewton. 

18. Numher: the ancients denoted names by 
numbers: thus the Egyptian Mercury Thoutk was 
signified by the number 1218. — The name Lateinos 
is supposed to be signified by the number 666. 

EEFLECTIOXS. 

Ter. 1 — 4. Here the great antichristian power, 
the Papacy, is distinctly set before us. History 
enables us to explain the different parts of the de- 
scription. The compound symbol, a Leopard with 
the mouth and feet of other wild beasts, shows us at 
once the' spirit of this beast or Emphe. This 
power is not of God, though permitted by Him, 
for his authority is directly ascribed to the draofon, 
or the Evil one. It is painful and melancholy to 
think, that such a monstrous power should have 
numerous adherents, and be to many an object of 
admiration. This gives us a most humihating \dew 
of human nature. But men love darkness rather 
than light." And it appears to be a fact in God's 
moral government, that when men wilfully abuse 
their blessings, they are given up to their own delu- 
sions. Piom. i. 24. 26. 2 Thess. ii. 11. 

— 10. Some of the characteristics of the beast 
are given us; pride, blasphemy, cruelty, and direct 
oppositions to God's faithful servants. The duration 
of his power is expressly stated; and we clearly see 
that his dominion is to be of wide extent: but his 



CHAP. XIII. 



129 



adherents are described by an awful negative — 
names not written in the book of hfe." And 
why is this information given to us? Surely it is, 
that we may have a right view of our condition in 
this world; of the enemies against whom we must 
be on our guard ; and of the cause of truth to which 
we must faithfully cleave. — But we see that judg- 
ment will overtake the adversary : destruction awaits 
the destroyer. On ' ' patient continuance in well 
doing" our safety depends. Pray we, then, for faith 
and patience. 

11 — 17. In the lamb-like beast, we see the 
symbol of the papal Clergy, and in the Image of the 
beast, that of the papal General Councils; these 
persons and these assembhes being the supporters of 
the beast, without whom he could not hve and rule. 
The characteristics of these secondary agents corres- 
pond with those of the beast himself; proving that 
the whole system of error and of eyil is pervaded by 
the same wicked spirit. The system is complex and 
complete, w^ell fitted to accomplish its object; in 
which it awfully succeeds; for to what myriads of 
human beings does the sixteenth verse apply ! 

Here, then, we have the papal system or machi- 
nery most clearly unfolded to our view. Judgment 
does not belong to us ; and Christian charity, if we 
have it, will always deter us from using improper 
language with regard to any persons. But in the 
examination of the system, as such, we are only true 
to God's word when we unveil it with all fidelity, in 

G 5 



130 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



order that its enormity may be seen, and that none 
may be deluded by it, but through their own wilful 
folly. That the Papacy retains a measure of sacred 
truth, is not to be questioned for a moment: but the 
awful language of the Apocalypse, again and again, 
compels us to hold, that the system is awfully corrupt, 
and that it leads to ruin. No language can be more 
explicit, or more tremendous on this point, than that 
which we find in chap. xiv. 9 — 11. If we uphold 
and elucidate God's word, our work is done: we can 
only further pray, that the kingdom of Christ may 
speedily embrace the whole world, and that we, in 
our day, may be faithful subjects in it. 



PART III. BLESSEDNESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS : DIFFUSION 
OF THE TRUTH : THE HARVEST AND THE VINTAGE. 

Chapter XIV. 

1 — 5. The Lamb and His Company. 6, 7. First 
angel. 8. Second angel. 9 — 11. Third angel. 
12, 13. Patience and blessedness of the saints. 
14_16. The Harvest of the earth. 17—20. The 
Vintage. 

^ And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the 
mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and 
four thousand, having his Father's name written in 
their foreheads. ^ And I heard a voice from heaven, 
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a 



CHAP. XIV. 



131 



great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers 
harping with, their harps: ^ And they sung as it 
were a new song before the throne, and before the 
four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn 
that song but the hundred ajid forty and four thou- 
sand, which were redeemed from the earth. ^ These 
are they which were not defiled with women ; for 
they are virgins. These are they which follow the 
Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were re- 
deemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto 
God and to the Lamb. ^ And in their mouth was 
found no guile: for they are without fault before the 
throne of God. 

^ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of 
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto 
them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, 
and kindred, and tongue, and people, ^ Saying with 
a loud voice. Fear God, and give glory to him : for 
the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him 
that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the 
fountains of waters. 

^ And there followed another angel, saying, 
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because 
she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath 
of her fornication. 

^ And the third angel followed them, saying with 
a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his 
image, and receive Jiis mark in his forehead, or in 
his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the 
wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture 



132 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



into the cup of his indignation ; and he shall be tor- 
mented with fire and brimstone in the presence of 
the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for 
ever and ever : and they have no rest day nor night, 
who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever 
receiveth the mark of his name. 

Here is the patience of the saints : here are they 
that keep the commandments of God, and the faith 
of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven say- 
ing unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die 
in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the spirit, 
that they may rest from their labours; and their 
works do follow them. 

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and 
upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, 
having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand 
a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of 
the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat 
on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap : for the 
time is come for thee to reap ; for the harvest of the 
earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust 
in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 

And another angel came out of the temple 
which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 

And another angel came out from the altar, which 
had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to 
him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy 
sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of 
the earth ; for her. grapes are fully ripe. And the 



CHAP. XIV. 



133 



angel thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth, and 
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the 
great winepress of the wrath of God. And the 
winepress was trodden without the city, and blood 
came out of the winepress, even unto the horse 
bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred 
furlongs. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. Lamb: our blessed Lord: Sion: symbol 
of the Christian Church: 144000, a definite for an 
indefinite number: viii. 4. 

2. Waters: multitudes of different nations : vii. 9. 

4. Not defiled: free from idolatry. 

6 — 14. Events in brief, more fully described in 
chap, xvi, xviii, xix. 

6. Fly : the rapidity with which the Gospel should, 
be sent forth. 

8. Fallen: the final overthrow of the Papacy is 
kept in view. 

10. Fire: allusion to Sodom, &c. 

12. Patience: xiii. 10. It here relates to the his- 
tory of the witnesses in chap. xi. 

13. Henceforth: from the time of their departure. 

15. Thrust: Execute the decreed judgments. — 
Ripe : the cup of iniquity is full. 

16. Reaped: the judgments were executed. 
18. Over fire: Lev. vi. 12, 13. 

20. Trodden: Is. Ixiii. Z— Bridles: signifying a 
great effusion of blood. It has been remarked that 



134 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



1600 furlongs, or 200 Italian miles, are the extent 
of Peter's patrimony from Eome to the Po: also, 
that it describes the circuit of the Hill-country of 
Judea between the two seas. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 5. We have already, chap. vii. seen the 
true followers of Christ; the 144,000. We rejoice 
to meet with them again. What a contrast between 
the Beast and his deluded adherents, and our blessed 
Lord and his faithful servants! It is indeed most 
consolatory and delightful to see, that in this evil 
world there is a people whose faith is pure, whose 
conduct is holy, and whose life is a preparation for 
heaven. The pious reader of Scripture will often 
meditate with profit on every expression in these 
verses: — ^on the Lamb, on mount Sion, on the 
sealed saints, on the new song, on the character of 
the saints — redeemed from among men," free from 
idolatry, followers of Christ, sincere in heart and 
word, faultless before the throne. Happy are we, if 
we strive to realize more and more of this excellence. 
Here let us study the true Christian character. 

6 — 11. If we apply these verses to the Reforma- 
tion, (and to subsequent Missionary labours, now in 
progress,) we may be reminded of our great blessing 
in having ''the everlasting Gospel preached to us;" 
and we ought to rejoice that it is preached in other 
lands, and also to do all in our power to promote its 
publication in all nations. — The hostile power is to 



CHAP. XIY. 



135 



be kept in view: we are here assured, and in awful 
terms, of its ultimate destruction : but while it exists, 
as it does yet exist, (using its wiles and sorceries as 
best it may,) we must be upon our guard, that we 
be not allured to drink of its poison-cup, or to 
receive its impress; lest we be compelled to ^' drink 
of the wine of the wrath of God." — The faithful 
ministers of Christ will not fail, after the example 
of the three angels, 6, 8, and 9, to dehver their 
divine message, explicitly stating the true doctrine, 
and solemnly warning all men against the errors 
and perils to which they are exposed. 

12, 13. Great as our blessings are, we need con- 
solation in such a world as this: and, in God's 
goodness, we have what we need. " We keep the 
faith of Jesus:" we keep the commandments of 
God:" we possess our souls in patience." We are 
then assured, that we are blessed:" for if we thus 
live unto the Lord, we shall die in the Lord," and 
our removal hence, however it may take place, will 
only be a translation to immediate rest and joy, 
where we shall at once know that ''our labour is 
not in vain in the Lord." 

14 — 20. What judgments are here predicted, 
under the images of a Harvest and of a Vintage, it 
is, we think, useless to encjuire; for we cannot abso- 
lutely determine whether they are past or future. 
We may well say. What a troubled world is this i 
If we examine the records of history during the 
two centuries after the Eeformation, it is awful to 



136 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



think of tlie sanguinary and desolating wars which 
have been carried on in Christian Europe: but such 
wars, or even wars more dreadful, may yet await 
guilty nations. — From such melancholy scenes we 
may well be thankful that we can turn to the con- 
sideration of the Church of God — the Goshen of our 
world ; and that we can also look forward to a day 
when the strife and misery of this sinful world will 
have an end; and when, in a new earth and new 
heaven, we shall see nothino- but rio^hteousness and 
hohness ; and feel nothing but happiness, peace, and 
joy; nothing but perfect love. "Wherefore, be- 
loved, seeing that ye look for such things, be dili- 
gent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without 
spot, and blameless." 



Scene VI. First Part. 

PART IV, END OF THE INTERMEDIATE SCENE. 

Chapter XV. 

1,2. A splendid Vision. 3 — 4. Sixth Anthem \ 
Hymn of Triumph. 5—8. The seven golden 
Vials : (Preparatory verses.) 

^ And I saw another sign in heaven, great and 
marvellous, seven angels having the seven last 
plagues: for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 
■ And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with 



CHAP. XY. 



137 



fire : and tliem that had gotten the ^^ctory over the 
beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and 
over the number of his name, stand on the sea of 
glass, having the harps of God. 

^ And they sing the song of Moses the servant of 
God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and 
marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; 
just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 
^ Who shall not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy 
name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall 
come and worship before thee; for thy judgments 
are made manifest. 

And after that I looked, and, behold, the 
temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven 
was opened: ^ And the seven angels came out of 
the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in 
pure and white linen, and having their breasts 
girded with golden girdles. ' And one of the four 
beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials 
full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and 
ever. ^ And the temple was filled with smoke 
from the glory of God, and from his power; and no 
man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven 
plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. 

NOTES. 

Yer. 2. Sea of glass: an allusion to the Israelites 
at the Eed Sea: a lucid plain around the throne, 
transparent, reflecting various colours. 

3. Song of] ^x: the same adapted to the present 



T7r 



138 THE APOCALYPSE. 

state, suffering ended, foes overcome, and triumph 
and happiness enjoyed. 

5. Temple: the Hoiy of Hohes: chap. xi. 19. 

6. Came out: being sent by God himself; clothed 
in the habits of the priests. Exod. xxviii. 6—8. 

8. Smohe: Exod. xl. 34; 1 Kings viii. 10. Is. 
vi. 4 : an image inspiring solemnity from a sense of 
God's presence and majesty. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 4. Thus closes the Intermediate Scene, 
which began, chap, xii., with the persecution of 
Christians by Pagan Eome; proceeded with the 
trials of 'the Church through the malice of another 
adversary, chap, xiii.; described the revival of re- 
ligion at the Eeformation, chap. xiv. 1 — 13; and 
predicted two awful visitations in Divine providence ; 
chap. xiv. 14 — 20. We are now to see another 
series of judgments, chap. xv. 1; but we are permit- 
ted to relieve our minds, amidst these awful events, 
by looking, (as in chap. xiv. 1 — 5.), on the glory 
and happiness of the Church. Observe, 1. They 
have gotten the victory:" 2. They stand ''on a 
sea of glass;" on a ground, to speak so, that is trans- 
parent, beautiful, and liable to no disturbance: 3. 
They have '' the harps of God;" for all is now with 
them joy and transport: 4. We are permitted to 
know their song : and let us often meditate on every 
word of it, and learn how to think of God and of 
His proceedings; let us learn also how to glorify 



CHAP. XV. 



139 



Him and to celebrate His praise. ]\Iay we and all 
nations, Lord, know Thee, as " glorious in holi- 
ness, fearful in praises, doing wonders," and so 
" worship before Thee," and walk with Thee," 
that we and they may sing the song of Moses," 
and the song of the Lamb" in the world above. 

5 — 8. These are very solemn and significant verses ; 
far more so than we can express or even conceive : 
Heaven opened — angels ready to execute God's pur- 
pose — vials of wrath put into their hands — the 
temple filled with smoke, intimating God's presence 
and majesty, and the awfulness of the coming judg- 
ments. So far as we can form an opinion, the period 
of the Seven Vials forms a very dark and stormy 
day, preceding a bright one; chap. xi. 15 — 17. 
We have no reason to be surprised at any of the 
convulsions and changes, trials and calamities, with 
which, in these latter days, the world may abound. 
If we really trust in our God and Saviour, faithfully 
cleave to Him, and strive to do His will, we may 

possess our souls in patience" and in peace, being 
assured that It shall be well with the righteous." 
But we cannot anticipate the future in the light of 
prophecy without painful and sorrowful apprehen- 
sions. The mercies of God are tender ; but if they 
are abused, His judgments are awful. To the true 
behever we say, " The Lord reigneth." " But go 
thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and 
stand in thy lot at the end of the days." 



140 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Chapter XVI. 

Tlie Seven Vials. — 1, 2. The first Vial. 3. The 
second. 4—7. Tlie third. 8, 9. The fourth. 10, 
11. The fifth. 12—16. Tlie sixtli. 17—21. 
The seventh. Tliird Syllabus. 

^ AxD I heard a great voice out of the temple 
saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour 
out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 
- And the first went, and poured out his vial upon 
the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous 
sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, 
and upon them which worshipped his image. 

And the second angel poured out his vial upon 
the sea ; and it became as the blood of a dead man : 
and every living soul died in the sea. 

And the third angel poured out his vial upon 
the rivers and fountains of waters ; and they became 
blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, 
Thou art righteous, Lord, which art, and wast, 
and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. ^ For 
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and 
thou hast given them blood to drink ; for they are 
worthy. And I heard another out of the altar 
say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righte- 
ous are thy judgments. 

^ And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon 
the sun ; and power was given unto him to scorch 
men with fire. ^ And men were scorched with great 



CHAP. XVI. 



141 



heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath 
power over these plagues : and they repented not to 
give him glory. 

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon 
the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of 
darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 
And blasphemed the God of heaven because of 
their pains and their sores, and repented not of their 
deeds. 

And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon 
the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof 
was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east 
might be prepared. And I saw three unclean 
spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, 
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the 
mouth of the false prophet. For they are the 
spirits of devils, working miracles, lohich go forth 
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, 
to gather them to the battle of that great day of God 
Almighty. '-^ Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed 
is he that wateheth, and keepeth his garments, lest 
he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he 
gathered them together into a place called in the 
Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into 
t]ie air; and there came a great voice out of the 
temple of heaven, from the throne, saying. It is done. 

And there were voices, and thunders, and light- 
nings; and there was a great earthquake, such as 
was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty 



4 



142 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



an earthquake, and so great. And the great city 
was divided into three parts, and the cities of the 
nations fell: and great Babylon came in remem- 
brance before God, to give unto her the cup of the 
T\ane of the fierceness of his wrath. And every 
island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, 
every stone about the weight of a talent : and men 
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; 
for the plague thereof was exceeding great. 

NOTES. 

Yer. 2. Sore\ Exod. ix. 9. 

3, 4. Blood: Exod vii. 20: it here indicates 
great slaughter. 

10. Darkness: Exod. x. 21: it here indicates 
confusion, dismay, distress. 

12. Water dried up : people discomfited. — Kings : 
we know not who are meant. 

13. Like frogs: see Analysis, xVot^ i^. 

14. Devils: 1 Tim. iv. 1. 

15. Keepetli: doth not sleep, so as to be punished 
by being stripped of his garm.ents. 

16. And he; that is, God: them; the dragon's 
army: Armageddon; " Jiountain Megiddo." Judges 
V. 19. 2 Kings ix. 27; xxiii. 29. The name does 
not here fix any place: it only indicates terrible 
destruction. 

17—21. Third Syllabus. — 17. Air: the political or 
ecclesiastical constitution of States ; or Satan's empire. 

(Note GO 



CHAP. XVI. 



143 



18. Voices ^'c : intimating terrible commotions, 
civil and religious. 

19. Great city: Eome and its dependencies. — Cup : 
allusion to the cup of poison given to criminals. 

21. Blasphemed: thus in ver. 9, 11. Judgments 
do not melt the heart. Exod. ix. 34, 35. (ISote H,) 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 11. We have in this chapter the develop- 
ment of the third Woe; chap. xi. 14. Men remain 
impenitent and incorrigible, and therefore God pro- 
ceeds to deal with them in a way of judgment. — If 
our view be correct, (as given in the Analysis,) we 
have here the divine judgments, inflicted on the 
kingdom of the Beast, more especially in reference 
to civil and social evils : that is, it is here represented 
as being visited vdth aU the calamities of war, and 
filled with consternation and distress. In the midst 
of strife and havoc, the voices of the pious give testi- 
mony to the truth and righteousness of God. They 
see the di^dne hand, and own the equity of the divine 
proceedings. But we may tremble to think of what 
is in the natural man, when we here read of the con- 
duct of the ungodly. What anguish do they endure ; 
ver. 10 ! And yet they remain impenitent, and blas- 
pheme that God who smites them. Circumstances 
show what man is, and what is in him. What rea- 
son have we to pray, that God may deliver us from aU 
" hardness of heart!" — AVe ought to learn here one 
great lesson; — God rules the world in righteousness. 



144 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Ungodly nations, Cliristian and Mohammedan, may 
flourish for a season ; but a day of fearful visitation 
will arrive. And as it is with nations, so it is with 
individuals. The triumphing of the wicked is 
short." 

12 — 16. We look upon these ''unclean spirits" 
as denoting infidehty, democracy, and popery, in 
their various manifestations. These, it appears, will 
work fearfully in the world, and their operation 
will lead to awful results. We do not aim to dive 
into futurity: but, being aware of the danger to 
which we are exposed, we cannot too earnestly 
regard, the assurances contained in ver. 15. There 
are, indeed, "many antichrists," many "unclean 
spirits," in the world, at all times: and the truly 
Christian life must be a life of prayer and watchful- 
ness. If we duly attend to this, we shall stand in 
honour and happiness, and only see the destruction 
of the confederated powers of evil: ver. 16. 

17 — 21. We look upon this scene as one that is 
still future; but whether it be aheady begun, is a 
point which we neither affirm nor deny. The last 
Vial is poured " into the air;" or upon the kingdom 
of " the power of the air:" Eph. ii. 2; that is, upon 
Satan's kingdom. Chap, xvii., xviii., furnish the 
commentary on these verses. Thus in these three 
chapters, xvi., xvii., and xviii., we have God's judg- 
ments on the impenitent world, and on the apostate 
Church. And now observe those emphatic words, 
" It is done :" " the mystery of God" (see chap. x. 7.) 



CHAP. XYII. 



145 



^'is finished." No more shall the faithful suffer, 
and the adversary triumph, as hitherto: ^' So that a 
man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the 
righteous: Verily He is a God that judge th in the 
earth." 

Lord God Almighty, we thank Thee for these 
discoveries of Thy proceedings : we meditate upon 
them ; we tremble and adore ; we believe and rejoice. 

Unsearchable are Thy judgments, and Thy ways 
past finding out:" but ''justice and judgment are 
the habitation of Thy throne." Give us grace, we 
beseech Thee, that, being preserved from every un- 
clean spirit, from all antichristian doctrine and in- 
fluence, we may be found among the blessed, who 
were faithful and watchful: and thus may we enjoy 
Thy favour, and rejoice in Tliy presence both now 
and for evermore. Grant this, we beseech Thee, for 
Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. 



Scene VL Second Part. 

SECOND VISION OF THE BEAST : CHAP. XIII. 

ChaptePw XVIL 

1 — 6. The Woman, or Mystic Babylon^ described. 
7 — 18. The Mystery of the Woman, of the Beast ^ 
and of the ten Horns explained. 

^ And there came one of the seven angels which 
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto 



146 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judg- 
ment of the great whore that sitteth upon many 
waters : ^ AVith whom the kings of the earth have 
committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the 
earth have been made drunk with the wine of her 
fornication. ^ So he carried me away in the spirit 
into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a 
scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, 
having seven heads and ten horns. ^ And the 
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, 
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, 
having a golden cup in her hand full of abomina- 
tions and filthiness of her fornication : ^ And upon 
her forehead teas a name written, MYSTERY, 
BABYLOX THE GEEAT, THE MOTHER OF 
HARLOTS AND ABO^HNATIONS OF THE 
EARTH, ^ And I saw the woman drunken with 
the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the 
martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered 
with great admiration. 

" And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst 
thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the 
woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which 
hath the seven heads and ten horns. ^ The beast 
that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend 
out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: 
and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, 
whose names were not written in the book of life 
from the foundation of the world, when they behold 
the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. ^ And 



CHAP. XVII. 



147 



here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven 
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman 
sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are 
fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; 
and when he cometh, he must continue a short 
space. And the beast that was, and is not, even 
he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into 
perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest 
are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as 
yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the 
beast. These have one mind, and shall give their 
power and strength unto the beast. These shall 
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall over- 
come them : for he is Lord of lords, and King of 
kings: and they that are with him aj^e called, and 
chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me. The 
waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, 
are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the 
beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make 
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and 
burn her with fire. For God hath put in their 
hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their 
kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God 
shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou 
sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the 
kings of the earth. 



H 2 



148 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



NOTES. 

I. Whore: Idolatress. Waters: ver. 15. 

3. Wilderness : it intimates the desolate state of 
the Church, notwithstanding its outward grandeur. 

Woman: the Eoman Church in her greatest 
prosperity:^' A.D. 1200^ — 1500. A woman sitting 
upon a beast is a lively emblem of a Church or City 
governing an empire. 

5. Forehead: Jer. iii. 3: publicly professing, and 
glorying in, her idolatry. 

6. Drunken : excessive cruelties and persecutions. 

7. S^even^ Sfc. : see chap. xii. 3. 

8. i. Was; of old, in Home's Pagan state, ii. Is 
not; that is, is not now pagan; but it "yet is;" it 
has an existence, iii. Shall ascend, &c. : the same 
idolatrous and persecuting power under another 
form. iv. Perdition: shall be destroyed. But, v. 
corrupt men shall wonder; be astonished at his 
greatness and power; and admire him: chap. xiii. 8. 

10. One is: the imperial head. The other ^ Sfc: 
see chap. xiii. 3. These are the sixth and seventh 
heads. 

II. The beast that was pagan, but is not so now, 
and who rises after the seventh short-continuing 
power, is the eighth power, and yet is of the seven, 
because he is not, properly speaking, a new head, 
but a revival of some of the former heads, and is 
essentially pagan. 

12. One hour: at the same time with the beast. 



CHAP. XVII. 



149 



13. These: independent, but yet united in pa- 
tronizing the beast. 

14. War: true of all popish states; they oppose 
the progress of pure Christianity. 

16. Hate: a complete change is here foretold, as 
to the papacy and its upholders. 

17. His will: How is this Divine will accom- 
plished? In the most awful and afflictive manner! 
In causinc^ ten Latin kinoes to unite their dominions 
into one mighty empire for the defence of the Latin 
church. Here is a dreadful dispensation of Jehovah; 
but it is such as the nations have most righteously 
deserved, because when they had the truth, they 
Hved not according to its most holy requisitions, but 
' loved darkness rather than light, because their 
deeds were evil.' 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12." J. E. C. 

EEFLECTIOXS. 

1 — 6. What a painful and awful object is here 
submitted to our contemplation ! The Papacy is 
here set before us in its leading features. The 
things enumerated are, her fornication or idolatry ; 
her corrupting the inhabitants of the earth ; her 
blasphemy; her pride and pomp; and her cruelty. 
History most fully and clearly shows us how exactly 
she ansv/ers to this prophetic delineation : and as w^e 
view her, we may " wonder with great admiration;" 
for it is strange indeed, that the blessed Gospel 
should have been thus distorted and corrupted. How 
strange, we may say, and how mysterious, that a 



150 THE APOCALYPSE. 

power or kingdom professing Christianity, should 
have such a character ; so completely the contrary 
to that which it is the design of Christianity to 
produce ! How strange it is, that Satan's malig- 
nity and man's corruption should be permitted to 
combine so as, by the abuse of the very best thing, 
to shock our reason, and to pollute the world, with 
all that is degrading, vile, and monstrous ! 

7 — 11. Evil comes from the bottomless pit: it 
walks about the world, to speak so, for a season: for 
a time it prevails and prospers: we may look upon 
it as designed for the trial of men; and those whose 
" names are not written in the book of life from the 
foundation of the world," (who ''receive not the 
love of the truth," — and to whom therefore is sent 
''strong delusion, that they should believe a lie;") 
shall "wonder" at the beast; shall view him with 
admiration, and give themselves up to his dominion, 
and, chap. xiii. 8, worship him. But " he that 
leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity." The 
apostate and idolatrous power, with its abject ad- 
herents, shall " go into perdition." Those who 
" overcome" error and evil " shall inherit all things;" 
but " the fearful and unbelieving, idolaters and liars," 
"shall have their part in the lake which burneth 
with fire and brimstone." Chap. xxi. 7, 8. 

12 — 18. We know pretty correctly what king- 
doms are denoted by the ten horns. Most of them 
are yet confederate with the beast; are yet drinking 
the golden cup full of the mystic Babylon's abomi- 



CHAP. XYII. 



151 



nations. In their giving their power and strength 
unto the beast;" in their opposing Christ's kingdom 
and people ; we see, as it is most strikingly stated in 
ver. 17, an awful dispensation on the part of God, 
who thus punishes a faithless and ungrateful world. 
But, ver. 16, Eome's lovers shall be Rome's haters: 
Eome's upholders shall be Rome's destroyers. This 
is a future event : but these words, as all other words 
of God, shall be fulfilled. 

We meditate on this chapter, and we find God 
declaring the end from the beginning, and from 
ancient times the things that are not yet done, say- 
ing, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my 
pleasure." — Again, We see the awful consequences 
of perverting and abusing the Gospel of Christ. 
How the heads of a Church can in any way deprive 
a people of the full and free use of the scriptures, or 
how any people can reconcile themselves to such a 
privation, are problems that we do not aim to solve. 
be it our happiness to look to Him who is " Lord 
of lords, and King of kings;" to walk in the light of 
His word; and to prove by the soundness of om 
faith and the integrity of our conduct, that we are 
called, and chosen, and faithful." 



152 THE APOCALYPSE. 

Scene VI. Third Part 

THE EPINICION, OR SONG OF TRIUMPH, ON THE FALL 
OF BABYLON. 

Chapter XVIII. 

1 — 3. The fall of Bahylon. 4. — 8. Exhortation^ 
Sfc. 9 — 11. Kings and Merchants lament her. 
12 — 16. Her merchandise: lamentation for her. 
17 — 19. Ship-masters lament her. 20 — 23. Hea- 
ven rejoices at her fall. 24. Her guilt. 

^ AiSrp after these things I saw another angel 
come down from heaven, having great power; and 
the earth was lightened with his glory. ^ And he 
cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon 
the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habi- 
tation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, 
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ^ For 
all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of 
her fornication, and the kings of the earth have 
committed fornication with her, and the merchants 
of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance 
of her delicacies. 

^ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 
Come out of her, my people, that ye be not par- 
takers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
plagues. ^ For her sins have reached unto heaven, 
and God hath remembered her inquities. ^ Eeward 
her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her 



CHAP. XYIII. 



153 



double according to her works: in the cup which 
she hath filled fill to her double. ^ How much she 
hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much 
torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her 
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall 
see no sorrow. ^ Therefore shall her plagues come 
in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and 
she shall be utterly burned with fire : for strong is 
the Lord God who judgeth her. 

^ And the kings of the earth, who have committed 
fornication and lived deliciously w^ith her, shall be- 
wail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the 
smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the 
fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great 
city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one hour is 
thy judgment come. And the merchants of the 
earth shall weep and mourn over her ; for no man 
buyeth their merchandise any more: ^'^ The m.er- 
chandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, 
and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, 
and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of 
vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most pre- 
cious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and 
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and 
sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls 
of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after 
are departed from thee, and all things which were 
dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou 
shalt find them no more at all. The merchants 



154 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



of tliese tilings, which were made rich by her, shall 
stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping 
and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas that great 
city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and 
scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, 
and pearls ! 

^' For in one hour so great riches is come to 
noughxt. And every ship-master, and all the com- 
pany in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by 
sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the 
smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like 
unto this great city ! And they cast dust on their 
heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, 
alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that 
had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness ! for 
in one hour is she made desolate. 

'^^ Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holv 
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you 
on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone 
like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, sajdng, 
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be 
thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 

And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of 
pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at 
all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft 
he be^ shall be found any more in thee; and the 
sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in 
thee; And the hght of a candle shall shine no 
more at all in thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom 
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in 



CHAP. XVIII. 



155 



thee : for thy merchants were the great men of the 
earth; for by thy sorceries ^Yere all nations deceived. 

2^ And in her was found the blood of prophets, 
and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the 
earth. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 2. Fallen: complete destruction: Isa. xiii. 
19—22; xxi. 9. 

3. Wine : xiv. 8 ; the punishment due to her 
transgressions. 

5. Sins: Gen. xviii. 21. God's forbearance gives 
way to His justice. 

6. Reward her : prophetic; she shall be rewarded. 
9. Kings: those who adopted her idolatries and 

superstitions. 

14. Dainty; goodly, delicacies for the taste; 
splendour for the eye. 

16. Clothed: abounded in; enriched with, 

17. Ship-master: captains of vessels ; pilots. Ezek. 
xxvii. 26, &c. 

18. Lihe: in magnitude, power, and luxury. 
21. Thrown down: hurled away with violence. 

23. Light: Jer. xxv. 10. — SorceiHes : arts, tricks, 
counterfeit miracles. 

24. Slaiji : in other nations by her counsels and 
influence. 



156 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



EEFLECTIONS. 

That is an awful verse whicli we read in the 75th. 
Psalm: ''For in the hand of the Lord there is a 
cup, and the wine is red: it is full of mixture, and 
He poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, 
all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, 
and drink them." — In the preceding chapter, the 
mystic Babylon was described; and in ver. 16, her 
punishment was announced. In this chapter we 
see the fulfilment of the prediction : and the whole 
of the chapter may be viewed as a commentar}' 
on chap, xvh 17 — 21. The cup of the wine of the 
fierceness of God's wrath" is put into her hands, 
which she exhausts to the very dregs. 

If we carefully examine the chapter, we shall 
form an idea, i. Of her wickedness and cruelty, de- 
scribed in the strongest language in ver. 2, 3, 5, 24. 
— ii. Of her pride, pomp, luxury, and security; 
ver. 7, 16: — iii. Of her wealth; ver. 12, 13. — iv. 
Of her sudden, complete, and permanent desolation: 
ver. 6, 8—11, 14, 15, 17— 23.— v. And in ver. 4, 
we have a solemn call to separate ourselves from 
her, lest, partaking of her sins, we partake also of 
her punishments. 

The reflecting reader will not fail to observe, 
(comparing ver. 9 — 11, and 15 — 19, with ver. 20.) 
how the overthrow of such a power in such an 
awful manner is differently regarded by different 
spectators. This may lead us to reflect on the 



CHAP. XYIII. 



157 



worldly and on the religious mind: the former, 
blind and dead to spiritual things, laments the loss 
of earthly gains and pleasures; the latter rejoices to 
see the righteousness of God, and an end put to the 
ruling power of error and ungodliness. 

Here, then, we have a prophecy w^iich will most 
assuredly be fulfilled in its time. He who over- 
whelmed the Pagan Roman Empire, and advanced 
Christianity to honour and influence, will at length 
overwhelm the Apostate Eoman Empire, the cor- 
rupter and persecutor of that Christianity which 
shall be promoted to greater honour, and made, as 
we presume and trust, far more influential than it 
has yet been. 

And what shall we say to these things ! i. We 
will praise God: xix. 1, 2. — ii. We will keep at a 
distance (xviii. 4.) from all the abominations of the 
mystic harlot. — iii. We will, through divine grace, 
so follow " the holy apostles and prophets," (ver. 20.) 
that we may be partakers of their joy. — In a word, 
Babylon will fall, but Jerusalem stands for ever. 
We, therefore, will pray that we may be preserved 
from all evil, and so live in the true faith of Christ, 
that we may be received into the everlasting man- 
sions of light and life; into the Jerusalem above. 



158 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



Scene VI. Fourth Part. 
Chapter XIX. 

I — 7. VII. Anthem '. Choims of the Heavenly Host. 
% — 10. Tlie Marriage of the larah. St. Johns 
mistake. 

Scene VII. Four Parts. 

PART I. A CONTEST BETWEEN CHRISTIAN AND 
ANTIC HRISTIAX POWERS. 

II — 16. Jesus and His enemies. 17, 18. A sum- 
mons. 19 — 21. His enemies discomfited. 

^ AxD after these things I heard a great voice of 
much people in heaven saying, Alleluia; Salvation, 
and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord 
our God : - For true and righteous are his judg- 
ments: for he hath judged the great whore, which 
did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath 
avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 
^ And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke 
rose up for ever and ever. ^ And the four and 
twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and 
worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, 
Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the 
throne, saying. Praise our God, all ye his servants, 
and ye that hear him, both small and great. ^ And 
I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, 
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice 
of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the 



CHAP. XIX. 



159 



Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad 
and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the mar- 
riage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made 
herself ready. 

^ And to her was granted that she should be 
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine 
linen is the righteousness of saints. ^ And he saith 
unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called 
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he 
saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he 
said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow- 
servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony 
of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus 
is the spirit of prophecy. 

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white 
horse; and he that sat upon him ico.s called Faith- 
ful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge 
and make war. ^- His eyes were as a flame of fire, 
and on his head icere many crowns; and he had a 
name written that no man knew, but he himself 

And he teas clothed with a vesture dipped in 
blood: and his name is called The AYord of God. 

And the armies ichich were in heaven followed 
him upon white horses, clothed in fine hnen, wdiite 
and clean. ^'^ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp 
sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and 
he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he 
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath 
of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture 



160 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, 
AND LORD OF LORDS. 

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and 
he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls 
that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather 
yourselves together unto the supper of the great 
God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the 
flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and 
the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, 
and the flesh of all men^ both free and bond, both 
small and great. 

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the 
earth and their armies, gathered together to make 
war against him that sat on the horse, and against 
his army. And the beast was taken, and with 
him the false prophet that wrought miracles before 
him, with which he deceived them that had received 
the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his 
image. These both were cast alive into a lake of 
fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant 
were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the 
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: 
and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. Alleluia: Praise ye Jah, or Jehovah. 

2. Judgments: true as to prediction; righteous 
as to execution. 

7. Marriage: intimating a glorious and happy 
state of the Church. 



CHAP. XIX. 



161 



9. Called: St. Matt. xxii. 2, &c. 

11. War: Isa. Ixiii. 1 — 6. — He that sat: our 
blessed Lord. 

12. Crowns: intimating conquests and dominion. 

13. Vesture: Isa. Ixiii. 2. 

14. Heaven: the Cliurcli in heaven sympathizes 
with the Church upon earth in her struggles and 
conflicts. 

16. Thigh: an allusion to the custom of in- 
scribing on the thigh, the garments, &c. the names, 
characters, and conquests of eminent persons. 

17. The sun: the judgments would be conspicu- 
ous to all the world. 

Come: Ezek. xxxix. 17. 

20. Beast ^-c. the antichristian powers, civil and 
ecclesiastical. 

Alive: destroyed in the zenith of their power, 
Lahe: an allusion to Sodom. 

21. Mouth: Christ conquers with the sword of 
the Spirit; but when he proceeds in a way of judg- 
ment, He uses a rod of iron; Ps. ii. 9. Yer. 15 and 
21 shows that the conflict is of a spiritual nature. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 7. Here we have what has been called 
" the last grand chorus of the heavenly host." It is 
the seventh and last anthem in the book. It leads 
us to the contemplation of God and of His ways. 
''The Lord God omnipotent reigneth:" " true and 
righteous are His judgments." These are things 



162 THE APOCALYPSE. 

which we are to consider, and then to say, Halle- 
luia," and to ascribe salvation, and glory, and 
honour, and power, unto the Lord our God." If we 
fear God, if we be His servants, let us meditate 
with joy, amidst the sorrows and trials of life, on 
the coming day of triumph, and allow these celestial 
strains to kindle in our hearts the fire of love, and 
to tune our voices to the notes of praise. 

7 — 9. The great and delightful theme inspiring 
us with gladness is, — the Marriage of the Lamb; 
the union of Christ and of His redeemed people in 
the world of bliss. In this world the Church, the 
mystic Bride, is often seen in sackcloth and in tears: 
but while she is in this humble guise she is making 
herself ready" for the day of her espousals, when she 
shall shine in the robe of righteousness, and rejoice 
in the immediate presence of her Lord for ever. 
May we trim our lamps, and gird our loins, and 
make ourselves ready," that when the Bridegroom 
Cometh we may go in " with Him to the marriage." 
St. Matt. XXV. 10. 

10. Let the mistake of the Apostle warn us and 
instruct us. Give worship to Him only to whom it 
is due; to our God and Saviour. Not to those who 
testify or prophesy of Jesus is worship due, but only 
to Jesus himself, whose servants they are, whether 
they be men or angels, and concerning whom they 
bear witness or advance predictions. 

11 — 21. Whether we look to chap. xvi. 16, or to 
the verses now before us, we readily confess our 



CHAP. XX. 



163 



litter inabilit}^ to explain them. We can only say, 
that we have here a prediction of the great battle 
of the last days, when the enemies of Christ and of 
His Gospel will muster all their strength, and direct 
their last desperate attack against the Church." In 
that conflict our blessed Lord will be the triumphant 
Conqueror, (Ps. xlv. 3 — 5.); and His awful judg- 
ments will overwhelm all His adversaries. As to 
place, time, and manner, we are silent. 

Here, then, is a dreadful struggle, (though not 
the final one; chap. xx. 8 — 10,) which lies before 
us; a struggle between the powers of good and evil. 
How soon it may arrive, or whether it be already 
begun, we know not : but it may not be rash to in- 
timate that there exist weighty reasons for supposing 
that it is not very distant. Tremble, we may say, 
ye votaries of delusion ! and escape, as Lot out of 
Sodom, before the tempest of divine wrath overtake 
you. Meditate, ye disciples of the truth ! and thank- 
fully consider your own happiness. Be faithful, be 
patient; and then the time will come when, in the 
joy of your souls, you shall know, that " these are 
the true sayings of God." 

It does deserve our notice, that the great conflict 
here described is of a spiritual nature; ver. 15, 21. 
How far such verses as 17, 18, are to be literally 
understood, it would be hard to determine. A 
spiritual conflict, victory, and defeat may be here 
represented by material imagery. 



164 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



PAPvT II. SATAX BOUND A THOUSAND YEARS. 

Chapter XX. 

1 — 3. Satan hounds ^x. 4 — 6. The first Resurrec- 
tion. 7 — 10. Satan loosed: conflict: Satan cast 
into the lake of f.re. 

PART III. THE FINAL JUDGMENT. TER. 11—15. 

^ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, 
having the key of the bottomless pit and a great 
chain in his hand. - And he laid hold on the 
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and 
Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ^ And cast 
him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and 
set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the 
nations no more, till the thousand years should be 
fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little 
season. 

^ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, 
and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the 
souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of 
Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had 
received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their 
hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a 
thousand years. ^ But the rest of the dead lived 
not ao'ain until the thousand vears were finished. 
This is the first resurrection. ^ Blessed and holy is 
he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such 
the second death hath no power, but they shall be 



CHAP. XX. 



165 



priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with 
him a thousand years. 

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan 
shall be loosed out of his prison, ^ And shall go out 
to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters 
of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them to- 
gether to battle : the number of whom is as the sand 
of the sea. ^ And they went up on the breadth of 
the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints 
about, and the beloved city: and fire came down 
from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 

And the devil that deceived them was cast into 
the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and 
the false prophet are^ and shall be torm.ented day 
and night for ever and ever. 

And I saw a great white throne, and him that 
sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven 
fled away; and there was found no place for them. 

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God ; and the books were opened : an(|ptnother book 
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead 
were judged out of those things which were written 
in the books, according to their works. And the 
sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death 
and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : 
and they were judged every man according to their 
works. And death and hell w^ere cast into the 
lake of fire. This is the second death. And 
whosoever was not found written in the book of life 
was cast into the lake of fire. 



166 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



NOTES. 

Yer. 2. Bound: restrained; his power broken, 
for a season, so that Christianty may prevaiL 

3. Deceive: not bhnd men with superstition and 
idolatry. 

4. Thrones: enblem of the exaltation of Christians 
to great dignity. 

Reigned: here is no mention of Christ's descent 
to this earth : His Spirit will rule in the hearts of 
men. 

4 — 6. On these difficult verses we are silent; not 
being able to determine how far they are to be un- 
derstood literally, or ecclesiastically, or spiritually. 

7. Loosed: permitted to exert his power very 
much as formerly. 

Gog^ perhaps northern nations; Ezek. xxxviii, 
xxxix: Or thev may onlv denote the enemies of 
of the Gospel. 

9. Belove^city: literally, Jerusalem; typically, 
the Christian Church. 

11. White Throne: denoting the purity and jus- 
lice of the judge. 

Fled: 2 Peter iii. 10 — 12: all nature in commo- 
tion, as incapable of sustaining His majestic presence. 

12. Booh: God's omniscience; man's conscience ; 
the book of life. Dan. vii. 10. xii. 1. 

13. The sea: the drowned. — Death: those who 
died by disease or age. — Hell: Hades, the place of 



CHAP. XX. 



167 



separate spirits. — The sea and death, or the grave, 
gave up the bodies of men ; Hades gave up their souls. 

14. Cast: utterly abolished: there shall be no 
more separate state. 

EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 3. Whatever obscurity belongs to these 
verses, they teach us how we are to look upon some 
of the ways of God. We are to regard Satan as 
being now loose; that is, permitted to exercise a 
certain measure of power, as the tempter and de- 
ceiver of men. But the time will come when, for a 
considerable season, here termed a "thousand years," 
he will be "bound;" that is, deprived of much of 
that power. Satan is mighty; but there is One 
who is mightier than he. 

4 — 6. Let us be content with reflecting ignorance. 
Time will explain this prediction, as well as many 
others. These verses seem to speak of a period 
when the Church will be favoured with remarkable 
prosperity. Her wilderness state of 1260 years is 
ended, and followed by a state of life, joy, and hap- 
piness. We will neither perplex our minds, nor 
amuse our fancies, with the resurrection here spoken 
of, whether it be literal or spiritual; the latter being, 
we think, most probable: but we will rejoice in the 
hope, that there is in store a brighter day for the 
world, through the living and saving virtue of the 
Gospel of Christ. 

7 — 10. Once more is Satan permitted to put forth 



168 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



his power and malignity. It is awful to think 
how widely his evil efforts will then prevail. How 
unsearchable are the ways of God ! The Church is 
not to enter into the fair haven of eternal rest without 
seeing one more furious tempest gather around her. 
But this is the last of her trials : and her Deliverer 
will appear on her behalf, and overwhelm her ene- 
mies with a tremendous overthrow. Then will the 
original assurance, Gen. iii. 15, It shall bruise thy 
head," be fully and finally verified. the dreadful 
end of Satan, and his angels, and his servants ! 
the awful wages of sin, — torment day and night 
for ever and ever !" Shall not we — shall not each of 
us — " fear Him, which after He hath killed hath 
powder to cast into hell?" 

11 — 15. Compare with this account of the final 
judgment St. Matt. xxv. 31 — 46. 1. We see here 
a throne; the emblem of majesty and authority: a 
white throne; the emblem of holiness and justice. 
2. We see here the Judge who sits upon it — "the 
Son of man in His glory;" — God, and yet one of 
ourselves: we are filled with awe, and yet we are 
comforted. 3. We see the assembly; all men of all 
ages and nations, of all ranks and conditions. 4. 
We see the books, emblems of the fact, that the 
trial is conducted with perfect knowledge, and ac- 
cording to prescribed laws. 5. We see the criterion 
by which we shall stand or fall: " every man accord- 
ing to his works :" and no one can possibly question 
the equity of such a criterion. 6. We see the result: 



CHAP. XXI. 



169 



those who were found written in the book of Ufe 
enter into bhss ; and those who were not written in 
it are ^^cast into the lake of fire:" their portion is 
with Satan, (ver. 10.): ''this is the second death." 
Shall we not lay these solemn things to heart; shall 
we not watch and pray ; shall we not look well to 
our faith and practice; that we " may be accounted 
worthy to stand before the Son of man?" 



PART IV. A NEW STATE : A HEAVENLY FELICITY. 

Chapter XXI. 

1 — 7. A new and blessed state. 8. The misery of 
the ungodly. 9 — 21. The A^eiv Jerusalem. 22 — 
27. Its glory and purity. 

^ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for 
the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ; 
and there was no more sea. ^ And I John saw the 
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God 
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her 
husband. ^ And I heard a great voice out of heaven 
saying, behold, the tabernacle of God, is with men, 
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
people, and God himself shall be with them, and be 
their God. ^ And God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither 
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain : for the former things have passed away. ^ And 



170 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



he that sat upon the throne, said, Behold, I make all 
things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these 
words are true and faithful. ^ And he said unto 
me, It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the begin- 
ning and the end. I will give unto him that is 
athrist of the fountain of water of life freely. " He 
that overcometh sliall inherit all things; and I will 
be his God, and he shall be my son. 

^ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abomi- 
nable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor- 
cerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their 
part in the lake which burnetii with fire and brim- 
stone : which is the second death. 

^ Aiid there came unto me one of the seven 
angels which had the seven vials full of the seven 
last plagues, and talked with me saying, Come 
hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's 
wife. And he carried me away in the spirit 
to a great and high mountain, and shewed m^e 
that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending 
out of heaven from God, Having the glory of 
God: and her light icas like unto a stone most 
precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 
^- And had a wall great and high, and had twelve 
gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names 
written thereon, which are the names of the twelve 
tribes of the children of Israel : On the east three 
gates; on the north three gates; on the south three 
gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall 
of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the 



CHAP. XXI. 



171 



names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ^'^ And 
he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure 
the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is 
as large as the breadth: and he measured the city 
with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The 
length and the breadth and the height are equal. 

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and 
forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a 
man, that is,^f the angel. And the building of 
the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure 
gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations 
of the wall of the city ivere garnished with all mamier 
of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; 
the second sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the 
fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, 
sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl, 
the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the 
eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And 
the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several 
gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was 
pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord 
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of 
the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did 
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 

And the nations of them which are saved shall 
walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth 
do bring their glory and honour into it. And the 



172 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there 
shall be no night there. And they shall bring 
the glory and honour of the nations into it. And 
there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that 
defileth, neither tcJiat soever worketh abomination, 
or malcetJi a lie : but they which are written in the 
Lamb's book of life. 

NOTES. 

Ver. 1. Neic : the final heavenly ^ate: Is. Ixv. 
17. 2 Pet. iii. 13. 

2. Jerusalem: a type of the Church — Coming 
down .\ Acts. X. 11. 

A bride : all those whose citzenship is in heaven : 
Phil. iii. 20. 

5. True: such is the promise of these changes: 
faithful, relates to the fulfilment of the promise. 

6. Fountains : streams are below: the fountain is 
above. 

9. Wife : the Christian Church. 
12. Israel: Ezek. xlviii. 31. 
16. Four-square: the square and cube represent 
perfection. 

19. Stones: Exod. xxviii. 17 — 20. Ezek. xxviii. 
13.— Yer. 23. Is. Ix. 19. 

24. Nations: allusion to Is. Lx. 3, 5, 11. Ixvi. 12. 
27. Defileth: Is. liii. 1. 2 Pet. iii. 13. 



CHAP. XXI. 



173 



EEFLECTIONS. 

Ver. 1 — 4. Whatever may be the troubles and 
sorrows of the present state, let us look forward 
with hope, joy, and triumph to the prospect which 
is here unfolded to our view. The glorified Church 
is represented to us under the image of a city; 
of a holy city, the new Jerusalem. The time will 
come, — (and is it not rapidly approaching?) — when 
" the first heaven and the first earth shall have 
passed away;" and when "a new heaven and a 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," shall 
be our abode. In that new state there will be no 
more sin; no more turbulence and confusion; no 
more sorrow, death, or pain. God will dwell 
visibly with His people, and nothing will be known 
but holiness and happiness. glorious prospect ! 
delightful change ! blessed inheritance ' But if 
we think of obtaining the final bliss, we must care- 
fully attend to our faith, spirit, and conduct while 
we remain here. 

5 — 8. All things are to be made new; far differ- 
ent from what they are at present; free from sin. 
All will be perfect holiness, and therefore perfect 
happiness. This great change the faithful God will 
certainly accomplish. But how, having this as- 
surance, ought vre to be engaged at present? We 
must thirst for, or intensely desire, spiritual bless- 
ings: we must drink of "the fountain of the water 
of life:" we must " fight the good fight," and over- 

I 3 



174 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



come the enemies of our souls. The promises given 
to the faithful are our encouragement: and ''the 
second death," which will be the portion of the un- 
godly, is a subject that ought to awake our fears, 
and to urge us to vigilance, caution, and persevering 
dihgence. 

9 — 21. The holy Jerusalem, the dwelhng of the 
Lamb's bride, (and in ver. 9, it is identified with 
the bride herself,) is here described at large. We 
readily conclude, that the imagery employed, taken 
from things most precious and splendid in human 
estimation, is designed to fill our minds with the 
most elevated conceptions of the magnificence and 
and beauty of heaven. Gems with their mingled 
radiance and hues ; gold shining and transparent as 
glass; — a city built with such materials overpowers 
our senses, as we strive to form a conception of it. 
But heaven itself, transcendentally bright and lovely, 
is but faintly shadowed forth to us by an accumula- 
tion of such enchanting images. How glorious, 
then, is the final inheritance of the saints ! How 
lightly ought we to esteem the wealth and splendour 
of this world ! How indifferent ought we to feel 
about our present condition upon earth; not proud 
and vain in splendid mansions; and cheerful and 
content in lowly cottages ! Hoav earnest ought we 
to be in striving so to live as that we may dwell for 
ever in the holy city ! 

22 — 27. The perfection of the new state is 
heightened by a further delineation of it: but we 



CHAP. XXII. 



175 



are utterly unable, in this mortal condition, to form 
any conception of it. " With thee," says the Psalm- 
ist, ''is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we 
see light." Not by the sun and moon are the glo- 
rified enlightened, but by a glory emanating from 
God and the Lamb. There too is seen, in full per- 
fection, all that constituted the true "glory and 
honour of the nations." But let us press upon our 
own hearts two thoughts. Who shall rejoice for 
ever in this magnificence and bliss? " The nations 
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of 
it." Who, again, shall be excluded from this mag- 
nificence and bliss ? ' ' And there shall in no wise 
enter into it any thing that defileth." — God the 
Holy Ghost ! enable us to believe in the Lord J esus 
Christ, that being washed in His blood, and renewed 
by Thy mighty power, we may be found " written 
in the Lamb's book of life," and dwell for ever in 
that Holy City, where glory will never fade, and 
where bliss will never fail. 



Chapter XXH. 

1 — 5. Heaven described as a Paradise: Happiness 
and Glory. Conclusion. 6 — 15. Various de- 
clarations and assurances. 16 — 21. Further de- 
clarations. 22. Apostolical Benediction. 

^ And he shewed me a pure river of water of life. 



176 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God 
and of the Lamb. - In the midst of the street of it, 
and on either side of the river, was there the tree of 
life, which bare twelve manner 0/ fruits ajid yielded 
her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree 
loere for the healing of the nations. ^ And there 
shall be no more curse : but the throne of God and 
of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall 
serve him : ^ And thev shall see his face ; and his 
name sliall he in their foreheads. And there shall 
be no night there; and they need no candle, neither 
.light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them 
light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

^ And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful 
and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophet 
sent his angel to shew unto us his servants the things 
which must shortly be done. ' Behold, I come 
quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of 
the prophecy of this book. ^ And I John saw these 
things, and heard them. And when I had heard 
and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of 
the ano'el which shewed me these thino's. ^ Then 
saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy 
fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and 
of them which keep the sayings of this book : wor- 
ship God. And he saith unto me. Seal not the 
sayings of the prophecy of this book : for the time 
is at hand. -^^ He that is unjust, let him be unjust 
still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: 
and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still : 



CHAP. XXII. 



177 



and he that his holy, let him be holy still. And, 
behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, 
to give every man according as his work shall be. 

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
end, the first and the last. ^"^ Blessed are they that 
do his commandments, that they may have right to 
the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates 
into the city. ^'^ For without are dogs and sor- 
cerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idola- 
ters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto 
you these things in the churches. I am the root 
and the offspring of David, and the bright and 
morning star. ^" And the spirit and the bride say. 
Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And 
let him that is athrist come. And whosoever will, 
let him take of the water of life freely. For I 
testify unto every man that heareth the words of 
the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add 
unto these things, God shall r*dd unto him the 
plagues that are written in this book : And if any 
man shall take away from the words of the book of 
this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of 
the book of life, and out of the holy city, smd from 
the things which are written in this book. He 
which testifieth these things saith. Surely I come 
quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

2^ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with 
you all. Amen. 



178 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



NOTES. 

A^er. 1. River: allusion to paradise. See Ezek. 
xlvii. 1—12. 

2. Of it: of the city; chap. xxi. 2. — Every 
month : always fruitful. 

3. Curse: Gen. iii. 17.: no sin, no curse. 

5. No night: no idolatry and intellectual night. 

CONCLUSION. 

8, 9. Expansion of chap. xix. 10. 

10. Seal not : the prophecies are to be studied. 

11. ^ Unjust. ''The time is at hand," ver. 10: 
and when it comes, the last seal shall be put upon 
the characters of men. All, as to good or evil, 
bliss or woe, will be for ever fixed. 

14. Right: privilege, by virtue of the promise, 
chap. ii. 7. 

15. Dogs : the uncircumcised in heart; Phil. iii. 2. 
17. Freely: without price : Is.lv. 1. 

19. Holy city: chap. xxi. 2. Surely the hea- 
venly state is meant in both cases. 

20. I come. The coming of Christ begins and 
ends the book. The Jewish dispensation prepared 
the way for His first coming : the Gospel points to 
His second coming. 

21. With you all: with all the saints. 

EEFLECTIONS. 
Yer. 1,2. These verses are a continuation of the 



CHAP. XYII. 



179 



angel's description, whicli began chap. xxi. 9. ; and 
they give us a view of the new state under imagery 
taken from the garden of Eden. With that garden, 
f before sin had entered into it,) we associate the 
most pleasing ideas, and we allow it to excite within 
us the most delightful emotions. The trees, the 
river, the innocent inhabitants, the presence of 
God; — we meditate on these, and we are filled with 
joy and wonder. It was an image of heaven: from 
the paradise below we pass to the paradise above; 
and there we behold " the throne of God and of the 
Lamb;" ''the river of water of life, clear as crys- 
tal;" and the tree of life," always laden with fruit. 
Shall we not closely consider these things ; be 
thankful for such a revelation of futurity: and 
make our few days upon earth a preparation for the 
eternal paradise? 

3 — 5. What a pleasing, what a sublime view of 
Heaven ! Where there is no sin there is no curse — 
no mark in any way of God's displeasure. — Now 
we are as it were in a remote province of God's 
empire; but there we shall behold his throne, and 
be near it. — How noble will be our employment, — 
for there we shall serve God with reverential, holy, 
and joyful worship ! How great will be our pri\d- 
lege, — for faith will be lost in immediate vision: 
we shall see his face;" and we shall have that seal 
upon us which marks us to be His for ever ! In a 
word, how perfect will be our condition; exempt 
from every thing that may be called ''night," 



180 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



whether sin, ignorance, or distress; and favoured 
with every thing that may be called light," 
whether knowledge or holiness, or happiness; — 
God, our God and Saviour, bemg to us an ever- 
present light ! — There are no more Seals to be 
opened, no more Trmnpets to be sounded, no more 
Yials to be poured forth: no storm and tempest 
shall deform the sky of heaven; no enemy shall 
assail the new Jerusalem; no sin shall enter into 
that paradise : all is light and serenity, all is safety, 
and peace, all is hohness, and that through all 
Eternity. 

COXCLUSIOX. 

Yer. 6,7. Heaven and earth shall pass away, 
but my words shall not pass away." St. Matt. xxiv. 
35. Tlie word of God is true, and it shall be 
accomphshed. Xor let us think that our Lord 

delay eth His coming:" the Lord is at hand." 
Would we be blessed at His coming? Then we 
must receive and obey the instructions which He 
has given us; we must faithfully observe ''the say- 
ings of the prophecy of this book." 

8, 9. **Thou shak worship the Lord thy God. 
and Him only shall thou serve." Happy are they 
who worship God;" worship Him in the spirit;" 
and worship Him only; according to the Gospel of 
Christ. 

10 — 12. The Holy Scriptures are an open book, 
inviting and demanding the study of us all. — Be- 



CHAP. XXII. 



181 



ware of delay. — Death will fix our everlasting con- 
ditions. If then we be righteous, we shall be so for 
ever. If we be then corrupt and polluted, we shall 
be so for ever. We are forewarned: "Behold I 
come quickly:" shall we not, then, turn to God, 
cease to do evil, and learn to do well?" 
13 — 15. Always remember who Christ is : always 
consider who are and will be blessed: and while 
the serious meditation of these things deepens, 
strengthens, and animates our piety, let the recol- 
lection of the awful end of the wicked urge us most 
carefully to guard against all error and iniquity. 

16. We cannot be too thankful for the testimony 
which is given us in this book. It comes from 
Him who as to His divine nature is the Eoot, and 
as to His human nature the Offspring of David; 
from Him in whose lis^ht we ousfht to walk and to 
rejoice, since He is the Morning Star, preceding 
and ushering in the splendours of the perfect and 
unending day of glory. 

17. The advent of Christ is the great event, and 
for which we ought to pray, as do the Spirit and 
the Bride, or the whole Church. But if we would 
rejoice at His appearing, we must now ''hunger 
and thirst after righteousness;" must drink of the 
freely offered water of life ; must believe and live as 
the true followers of the Lamb. 

18. 19. These verses teach us in plain and awful 
terms, that God requires us to treat His revealed 
word with the greatest reverence. What shall be 



182 



THE APOCALrPSE. 



said of those who neglect it, despise it, add to it, 
take from it, or corrupt and distort it? Surely 
they put themselves in a fearful condition. The 
" whole counsel of God," — the " pure milk of the 
word;" — be this our desire, and in this may we 
always delight. 

20. Here we have the last assurance of our 
blessed Lord : and here we have the prayer of the 
Church. And shall we not say, " Come, Lord 
Jesus," in the power of Thy grace to us and to all 
men: and then " come. Lord Jesus," in Thy glory, 
and receive us to Thyself 

21. ^ See Christian prayer: it is for "the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ." See Christian love: it is 
that this grace may be poured forth upon and be 
with all men. Amen. 



ERRATUM. 

Page 42, /or "Note A," read "page 14, foot note." 



W. ROWBOTTOM, PRINTER, DERBY. 



H 112 82 



